On a Train from Chicago to New York
by Always RuroKen
Summary: It is 1931 in Prohibition-Era America. Aoshi is the cold and calculating crime boss of the Oniwaban and Misao is his cute knife-throwing subordinate. Sanosuke is an easy-going street-fighter that the mysterious self-professed doctor Takani Megumi is drawn to, buying a train ticket for. In the dog-eat-dog crime world, things will get complicated again. [UPDATED - Ch30 out]
1. Chapter 1

**Sanosuke**

 _"I'll buy you a ticket, but in exchange you'll have to do me a little favor."_ That was what the woman had said, red lips curving, her hat obscuring her features. She had laughed at the word 'favor' with this sort of throaty 'hohoho' sounding laugh. Like she was making fun of him, but of herself as well.

She annoyed him. It wasn't that Sanosuke had disliked her attitude. It wasn't that he disliked her personally. No. Maybe ' _annoyed_ ' was the wrong word. He was _confused_. He didn't like things he couldn't understand and he was aware of it. But it annoyed him that he was confused. About her, about her actions. _Why would some rich lady be at a speakeasy like_ that _? She_ wore a fur coat made of _real_ fur, so she _must_ have been rich.

Well, there was _that_ and there was the fact that she had just bought him a _first_ -class ticket for a train trip across the _country_. Sanosuke scratched his head. _A little favor? Probably not something legal. Whatever. As long as I get to New York in time._

Sanosuke chewed on a toothpick, stuffing his hands deeper into his pockets and taking big, slow steps down the sidewalk, thinking hard. It was already evening and all the lights in the city were beginning to get lit. He spit out the toothpick. A man in a trench coat with his collar turned up walked hurriedly by, looking around himself anxiously. There was the sound of a dog barking. Someone yelling. Jazz music. A single scream. A gunshot. Some more gunshots, further away. Raucous laughter. Glass breaking. Opera music on a really scratched up record.

It began to drizzle, deepening the colors of the gray and brown city. There was the smell of rain. Gutters and sewers. Cooking food. Something deep-fried. Something Chinese. A car drove by, splashing the edge of the sidewalk with rainwater and God-knows-what else. Chinese food again, stronger this time. _Damn I'm hungry. And cold. I left my coat in the room and I haven't paid my rent. Crazy Italian landlady'll probably threaten me with her mob connections. Like they'll give a shit._

He absentmindedly kicked a can that lay on the street. It bounced away with a hollow clattering sound. _But what the hell was_ that _kind of a woman doing at a speakeasy like_ that _?_ He wondered again. _She was_ too _well dressed, too fancy talkin'. She woulda gotten eaten alive there. Unless… Maybe she's some mob boss's woman. If she was though… Couldn't she just_ hire _someone to do whatever the hell she wants me to do? This is confusing. I need another fight to get my head straight._

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Earlier that day Sanosuke had gotten a telegram. ' _Captain Sagara alive. Come quickly – New York. Train leaves 19 Nov. The NYC/Chicago Express – Katsu._ '

Katsu was a poor artist with the pseudonym of 'Tsukioka Tsunan'. He drew portraits, nature, editorial cartoons and caricatures – and porn – when he _really_ needed money. He and Sanosuke had grown up together in New York City when a man called Sagara Souzo took them in from the streets. He was an ex-military officer who became a gang boss after his wife had left him. The title of 'Captain' had stuck – become a nickname, a term of respect.

Captain Sagara had been like a father to Sanosuke. Since Sanosuke did not even know his own last name – much less his parentage – he called himself Sagara Sanosuke from the day he was taken off the streets.

When, ten years ago, there had been a major gang war, the Sekihoutai – Captain Sagara's gang – had been annihilated by the mob working with the cops that they had paid off. Captain Sagara was presumed dead and Katsu and Sanosuke had been separated. But they found each other again in Chicago, seven years later. When Katsu got a job in New York, Sanosuke wanted to go with him but didn't have the means. So they parted again but wrote letters.

And that brought him to where he was today, gambling and street fighting for money, living each day like he was going to die the next. When he had gotten the letter, he decided that he would fight every man in the city and get all the money he could so he could snag at least a third-class ticket onto the train. Hell, he'd ride in the baggage compartment if he had to. So he went to speakeasies and fought. ' _Bet on me!_ ' he would yell. He went to backstreets and fought. ' _I'm Sagara Sanosuke and I came to win this fight!_ ' He fought in every place it was imaginable to fight – and he won. Because he _was_ going to see Captain Sagara again.

It was at a speakeasy that he had met the woman. He had just gotten a bit of money fighting two guys at once, leaving a little the worse for wear. There were no more people to fight – and he was tired – so he sat down at the counter. The bar was smoky, crowded. It seemed to Sanosuke as if nobody had bothered to clean the place since it was built – and Sanosuke wasn't too picky about cleanliness himself. It reeked of alcohol and sweaty men.

"You're bleeding, you know." He turned around to face a woman sitting next to him, wearing a gray fur coat and a wide-brimmed hat that hid her eyes. She was smoking a cigarette in a black cigarette holder and her lips were painted red. The kind of red that reminded him of the red paper lanterns outside the Chinese bakery outside his apartment building.

He brought a hand up to his face. "Where?"

"Your lip." She said, gesturing in that direction with her cigarette holder.

He dug his handkerchief out of his pocket and held it to his mouth. "Aw. I see. Thanks."

They sat in silence, then she asked him a question. "What do you need the money for so badly?"

"A ticket to New York." He figured he wouldn't lose anything by telling her the truth.

The woman crossed her legs and leaned forward. "And what will you do there, in New York?"

"See a man who I thought was dead for the past ten years." Sanosuke eyed the string of pearls around her neck and her shiny red pumps. _Is she a rich lady, or_ what _. If those are real pearls… Damn! She's pretty hot too – and I can't even see her eyes… But I'm sure they'd be- Wait. Think about that crap later, focus on something else._

She blew out a thin, long string of smoke from between her scarlet lips. Her black-gloved hand played with a strand of her long hair. "You know…" she said after a while. "I'll buy you a ticket, but in exchange you'll have to do me a little favor."

Sanosuke's eyes widened and he wiggled his little finger around in his ear. " _Huh_?" He grinned hopefully. "Seriously?" his eyes narrowed. "If this is some sorta elaborate prank, it ain't funny."

The woman smirked. " _If_ you do me a little favor. But yes, it's a promise." She leaned in for a moment, her breath warm against his ear and her hair falling forward over her shoulders. "I'm just as desperate as you are." She whispered. Then she stood up, heels clacking on the floor. "Meet me at the train station in front of the New York City/Chicago Express train on November nineteenth if you've made the decision. Ten in the morning." Her voice sounded just as sarcastic and confident as before.

Then she turned and walked away. "I'll meet ya there, lady!" he yelled at her retreating back. "Count on it!" She didn't turn around, just lifting a hand in acknowledgement. If this lady didn't flake out on him, this might just work.


	2. Chapter 2

**Soujiro**

"I understand…. Yes… Yes. I will not fail you, Shishio-san. …Of course… I will get in touch with that person immediately. …I see. Thank you." Soujiro hung up the phone and leaned against the wall of the phone booth, lighting a cigarette. He thoughtfully breathed out a puff of smoke and watched it disappear as it came in contact with the roof of the booth. He repeated this process several more times, then slowly smiled. _I definitely will not fail you, Shishio-san._ He dropped the cigarette on the floor and ground it with his heel.

Stepping outside he felt strangely light. _I think I'll go buy myself a drink to celebrate, at Kamatari's, of course. Combining business with enjoyment._ He smiled cheerfully. _How_ very _unprofessional of me._ He walked down the street, whistling quietly – a tune that was mournful at times wildly upbeat at others. He made it up as he went. It began to rain and he tilted his face up, as he always did, to feel the cold droplets on his cheeks. _Better get to Kamatari's bar soon._ He walked faster, adjusting his cap.

As he began to whistle again, somebody shouldered him. "Hey! You!"

"Me?" Soujiro stopped whistling and slowly looked up, a smile spreading across his face. "Yes? How may I help you?"

The man had several others with him, all looking like they wanted a fight. If by 'fight' one meant beating up one guy for the fun of it. "Wha'cha grinnin' at? You're a stranger around here, yeah? We don't like those. You don't belong on this street."

"I'm in a hurry, rather. Oh, and, by the way, I live nearby, so I rather don't think I'm a stranger. I'd love to stay and chat but… Y'know. Duty calls and all that." Said Soujiro, shrugging. "If you'll excuse me-"

"A hurry, huh? But we ain't done talking yet!" The man cracked his knuckles. "What do you say we explain to him why he shouldn't come around here again?" the others grinned and nodded.

Soujiro shrugged, still smiling. _Oh honestly… These men. …No, Not men. Boys. They couldn't have been older than me._ "Eh?" he tilted his head to the side. "I'm sorry, you must have misunderstood. I said I was in a hurry." There was an edge to his voice underneath the soft politeness. Sensing that there was no-one behind him, he slowly walked up to the leader, his smile widening and his eyes also. "Oh what a pity… I was hoping not to get my new white shirt dirty…" It seemed as if a knife suddenly appeared in his hand. He flicked it open. With one move, he slashed a wide arc out in front of him, so quickly that he seemed not to have moved.

The guy he was slashing at yelled in fear and fell on his butt. The bill of his cap fell into his lap, cut cleanly off. The others watched Soujiro, intimidated yet angry, unsure of what to do next. Soujiro sighed. "Who doesn't belong around here?" he asked. "The only ones who do not belong around here are the weak ones." He flicked the knife into the air and caught it. "And in this case…" he smiled amiably. " _That_ …" he threw the knife and caught it again. " _Would_ …" he tossed it up, and as he caught it he slashed, a boy's suspender was cut in half. " _Be_ …" the knife flew up again, glinting as it made its arc back to Soujiro's hand. " _You_." He caught the knife and pointed it at the group.

"I said I was in a hurry. Please move." He said pleasantly. They parted to let him through. But there was a roar and a rock flew by Soujiro's head as he walked through. The slight breeze that it caused as if flew by him caused his hair to be ruffled.

"You think some little knife tricks would scare us?" the leader was shaking, but he had another rock in his hand, prepared to throw it.

Soujiro sighed, smiling sympathetically. In the blink of an eye, he had his arm around the boy in a seemingly friendly gesture. But the arm that he had curved around his shoulder had a knife in it, pointing straight at the neck, drawing a little line of red. "Yes. I did. How very silly of me. I should've killed someone immediately, it was my mistake." Soujiro laughed. "It won't happen again. I don't want to get my shirt dirty with your blood, but if you keep annoying me…" he sighed, smiling embarrassedly and shaking his head. "…I might just have to buy another shirt." The other swallowed, saying nothing, his eyes wide and his body shaking. Soujiro smiled. "Bu-ut… I'm not really in the financial situation where I can just ruin a nice shirt like this so…"

He stepped away and walked through with no interruptions, adjusting his cap, his knife disappearing up his sleeve. "If you'll excuse me." Soujiro said with a pleasant smile and a polite tilt of the head.

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Soujiro walked into a convenience store and waited until there was no-one at the counter, listening to the static-y jazz playing over the radio. When the shop owner turned around, Soujiro simply smiled and pointed at a small door, inconspicuous behind a few crates. The man nodded and allowed Soujiro through, making sure no-one saw, looking this way and that suspiciously.

Opening the door, Soujiro walked into a speakeasy. It had a low ceiling, the paint was peeling a little, yet it seemed a lot more high-class than many other 'underground' bars. It was mostly empty, a single man slumped over his drink at the end of the bar. A single glance at the blood soaking into his cap and the unnatural angle of his neck told Soujiro that he was dead. He shook his head reproachfully. "You really should clean up before other visitors come, you know." He said with a slight laugh.

"Ahh, I'll do it later. Officially I'm closed for the day but since it's _you_ … What're you having, Soujiro-kun?" the bartender asked, wiping down a glass.

"Surprise me, Kamatari-chan." Soujiro smiled, taking his cap off and sitting down on a bar stool facing him.

Kamatari winked. "Ooh! I'll mix up just the thing for you, Soujiro-kun…" he giggled as he began to work. "How've you been? What've you been doing? I haven't seen you around these parts in a while."

"Oh, I've been fine, as usual! You know me." Shrugging, Soujiro smiled. "Well… What I've been doing. You know. This and that. Assassinations, debt-collecting, fraud, the occasional theft… Having to pick up Yumi-san's shopping."

With a wry laugh, Kamatari slid the glass across the table. "Oh god. That woman Yumi's shopping. I'm not sure at all which one out of the above is a bigger crime, lemme tell you. Shishio-sama could do _so_ much better." As Soujiro drank, Kamatari watched him. "What's up, Soujiro-kun? You don't visit me for fun. You've only ever come here if there's a job." Kamatari pouted, then smiled happily as another thought came to him. "Does Shishio-sama need me again?"

Soujiro took another sip and smiled. "You know me real well. This is the perfect drink." He said. "Yes, Shishio-san needs you. He also needs me and…" he winced a little. "Chou-san. Anji-san's already on the move."

Lifting a surprised hand to his mouth, Kamatari looked carefully at Soujiro. "The four of us? That broom-head and that crazy religious fanatic?! I mean, out of the ten of us, he's one of the most decent people but… _Four of us?!_ " he shook his head. "There must really be something going on, then!"

Soujiro smiled to himself. "Oh yes…" he hummed. "Something's going on – and Shishio-san has something interesting up his sleeve again, as always… He really is quite a guy, you know? Well, I guess I don't need to tell _you_ that, Kamatari-chan." He lit a cigarette. "I think he's sending another one besides us, though." He blew out a small thread of smoke and lifted the cocktail to his mouth.

"…Besides the _four_ of _us_ …?" Kamatari almost dropped the glass he was wiping. He began to fan himself with his hand, unbuttoned sleeves flapping. "Heavens! Just what's going on here? What on earth is going on that he's called _five_ of his 'Ten Guns'?"

Tapping his fingers on the counter, Soujiro's smile never left his face, but his sky-blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "…I don't think the fifth person is one of us 'Guns'…" he said, the tapping of his fingers on the polished wood speeding up. "Shishio-san said that after he finishes his job, we're supposed to kill him and his subordinates before we get to New York. Oh, and Houji-san will relay Shishio-san's instructions to us over radio."

"What do you mean, before we get to _New York_?" Kamatari anxiously leaned over the counter, facing Soujiro. "What's going _on_?"

Soujiro laughed. "Oh, silly me!" he said. "I forgot to mention that we'll all be on a train! The New York City/Chicago Express! The nineteenth – oh, that's tomorrow, isn't it. Our tickets have already been booked." he shook his head. "He told me that some other syndicates are planning on showing up there." He leaned closer to Kamatari. "This is just hearsay, but I heard that Wu Heishin is going to be on that train." Soujiro's smile widened. "And so is Shinomori Aoshi."


	3. Chapter 3

**Misao**

Misao knocked on the oaken door of her boss's office, trying not to shake with excitement. "Come in." she heard. She adjusted the collar of her shirt and patted her hair. _God, I should have changed into a dress. Why is it that I'm wearing men's clothes every time he calls me up here…? Ugh. It's like fate has a vendetta against me. Will it_ hurt _to look pretty for once, especially in front of_ him _?!_

She pulled the cool metal handle and stepped in, booted footsteps muffled by the thick red carpet on the floor. The door closed softly behind her. At the back of the room there were large windows, but there were deep red curtains across them, the same color as the carpet. The boss's desk was in front of those windows and he sat facing the entrance, his elbows resting on the polished surface.

"Misao." He said, glancing at her and arranging the papers on his desk. "Take a seat."

Misao sat in an armchair that faced him and eagerly laced her fingers together, biting her lip to keep herself from smiling and being unable to do a thing about her flushed cheeks and wide sea-green eyes. _I'm not going to speak first. This isn't my first job after all. I'm no kid. But augh! This is so exciting! Finally!_

"I believe you understand why I called you here?" he said coolly, neither angular face, nor icy blue eyes betraying a thing.

 _Uh-oh. That sounds bad. I thought it was about a job. Did I mess up somehow?_ She opened her mouth and tried to choose her words carefully. "I'm… I'm not in trouble, am I, Aoshi-sama?"

He raised an eyebrow, face still blank. "Have you done anything worth me troubling about?"

Misao put a hand to her forehead, trying to think. "Well, last night's dinner was kind of rushed… Did I add sugar instead of salt to the stir-fry?" her eyebrows furrowed into a worried peak. "Or was it because I almost shot the wrong guy on Friday? …I mean, I didn't _end up_ shooting him! How was I supposed to know he had a brother who looked just like him?" She gasped, her eyes widening. "Or was it the book that you lent me? Did I give it back yet? I _think_ I did. If not, it's probably still on my desk in my room." She jumped up. "I'll go get it!"

"Sit down, Misao." He said, a slightly amused glint in his icy blue eyes. "The stir-fry last night was perfect. You did very well in checking your target – and as for the book, I'm sure you will find time to return it later."

"Oh! Yeah! Thanks!" Misao beamed happily, for praise from Shinomori Aoshi was not often given. _My stir-fry was_ perfect _! I did_ very _well in checking my target! Yes-s!_

He resumed his business-like tone and Misao snapped back to reality. "I have called you here today to act as my partner for a job. We will be boarding a train going across the country – to New York. Our target will be on the train itself."

Misao's smile widened, if such a thing was possible. _Ha! A job!_ _Together with Aoshi-sama! For the first time, I'll be working with him alone!_ "R-really? What's going on? _You're_ going on a job? Why not just send me?"

"We need people back home and I plan to spend some time in New York. …You know about Wu Heishin, I presume?" Aoshi pulled open a drawer and pulled out a photograph of a short Chinese man in his early middle age with four large bodyguards. He was smirking, looking straight at the camera, a cigar in one hand.

"Ugh. _That_ guy. He was the one who ended up messing up the agreement with us over the weapons deal. Are we finally taking him out?" she lit a cigarette.

"Indeed we are." Aoshi said. "He has been getting much too comfortable on our territory. Killing him will not start a war, as he has repeatedly made enemies of every single syndicate and gang in this country and others. But we will allow him to take advantage of us for any longer. Most of his subordinates have already betrayed him. The reason he has not been taken out yet is because of his bodyguards, money and connections to Takeda Kanryuu – that drug lord who's starting to get into weapons now. The bodyguards are known as the 'four gods'."

Misao clicked her tongue. "Tacky nickname. But looking at things, they're the ones we really need to watch out for, right? They'll be the stars of the show, really." Misao blew out a stream of smoke. "But we're the Oniwabanshu. Anything below _five_ -star ain't gonna cut it." She grinned, winking. _I just made the best joke of my life. Can everyone just acknowledge that? I'm a genius._

"Indeed." Aoshi nodded amusedly. "But I need to explain something to you. Before killing him, we must make it seem as if we are entering into business with him. He will sign a paper which will entrust to us a large portion of his weapon trade. Up until the moment we pull the trigger, we are the most cordial of business partners, Misao. We want him to _trust_ us, as much as he can, in the short time he'll know us. It'll be easier to kill him. There is a saying – keep your friends close and your enemies even closer."

"I… I see."

"As soon as we have a part of his assets, we can get the rest forged. After that, we, the Oniwabanshu, will have the biggest bargaining chip – part of Hong Kong and part of New York. As well as our Chicago, we will be undeniably the strongest."

Misao grinned. "I won't hesitate."

Aoshi nodded slowly. "We will board the train tomorrow morning. The trip itself will take three days. You can get a gun from Shiro. Kuro can tell you more about the whole thing. Bring your knives just in case, of course."

"Alright!" Misao stood up, stubbing her cigarette into the glass ashtray on the coffee table near the armchair. "Thank you, Aoshi-sama! I'm definitely going to do my absolute best!"

"Yes." Aoshi also stood up. He looked at her, seeming to speak very carefully. "…I want to warn you. If anything goes wrong, run. Hide on top of the train until things even out. I've heard that there are other syndicates involved in this train ride. Something to do with Shishio Makoto. It could get dangerous."

"If you didn't think I could deal with the job, you wouldn't have chosen me, right, Aoshi-sama?" Misao smiled, tilting her head to the side a little. "Besides… If Aoshi-sama's there, then nothing could go wrong!" She did not notice Aoshi's eyes widening as she gave a little salute and walked out of the room with a spring in her step.


	4. Chapter 4

**Aoshi**

 _I still can't get used to her smoking,_ Aoshi thought as he watched Misao skip out of the room. He sighed deeply and sat back in his chair, taking his jacket off, rolling his sleeves up and pushing his bangs back from his eyes – staring intently at the pile of papers. After a while, he felt himself go cross-eyed. _Damn it. Can't concentrate._ He threw himself back into his chair and put a record on the gramophone. Piano music began to play and he lit a cigarette. _She's right. If I thought she couldn't deal with the job I wouldn't have chosen her. Misao is no longer a child. She is very capable – and everyone else is needed back here._ He sighed again. _She is an adult. Part of the 'family business'. But still… Despite that… I…_

Aoshi winced and blew out a thick jet of smoke, still thinking and worrying – and telling himself not to do so. He heard a knock at the door. "Aoshi. It's me."

"Okina. Come in."

The old man entered holding a teapot and two cups. "I brought tea. Green tea." he said. "It'll make you feel better."

"Thank you."

Okina poured a cup for Aoshi and a cup for himself, then set the pot on the low table. He sat in the armchair Misao had sat in ten minutes ago. "Something bothering you?" he asked, taking a sip from his cup. "The tickets for one cabin weren't as expensive as we originally thought."

"The costs are not it. The Oniwabanshu are known for effectively cutting costs, courtesy of Okon."

Laughing, Okina took another sip of tea. "Nothing beats a woman's perceptive eye and bargaining tongue, eh?" Aoshi said nothing, also taking a sip of tea. Okina glanced shrewdly up at Aoshi over the rim of his cup. "Is it about Misao that's bothering you?"

Aoshi paused. "…I suppose. I…" he looked past Okina, at the door, sounding a little sad. "I… Still haven't gotten used to her starting to smoke." The record spun to a stop, the notes of the piano growing more and more faint and scratchy until they finally stopped. Aoshi ignored it.

Okina began to laugh, then stopped as he saw Aoshi's look. "She is an adult woman who can kill a man without batting an eyelash – and you're worried about her smoking. She only does it because it looks cool, you know. Mostly does it in front of you." Okina chuckled. "But y'know… Kids grow up fast, Aoshi. I remember when you were a serious ten-year-old trying to shoot a gun that you could barely lift. Now you're running the family business, and I have never been more right in choosing a successor." He looked at Aoshi seriously, before smiling a little.

Aoshi's brows were still furrowed. "I wonder about that as well." He said quietly, almost as if to himself.

"I don't really know what you're thinking most of the time, probably because you are about as expressive as a glass of water." Said Okina dryly. "But it's easy to tell with Misao. More than anything she wants to prove herself. To you, especially, Aoshi. She is capable, flexible, young and talented. She's had quite a bit of experience for someone her age. The best choice in this situation – really. Trust her, Aoshi. Even if she is young, she _is_ an adult, you know. Has been for a few years, here." He sighed. "Our pretty Misao is eager to learn – and when she learns something, she learns it all the way until she's so good at it almost no-one can beat her. She's quite like you in that respect."

"She was the best choice in this situation." Aoshi repeated. Taking a sip of tea, he set his cup down on his desk with a finalizing _clack_. He resumed his usual expressionless, businesslike manner. _No point worrying. Already happened. Best decision. I am the head. I cannot afford to hesitate._

Okina shrugged and they began to talk about business, the imports of alcohol over the border and the import of weapons from the 'island'. When all the tea had been drunk, and most of the paperwork had been done, Okina left – and it was already evening. Aoshi took the long-extinguished cigarette from between his teeth and decided he wanted dinner.

He stood up, stretching, tired from sitting for so long. As he opened the door, he heard a squeal and Misao toppled over into the room, unbalanced but keeping a plate of lasagna upright, clutching it with both hands. "It's dinner- _Ah shit-_!" Unthinkingly, he hooked a supporting arm around her waist and took the plate from her hands before she fell over and took his dinner with her.

"Yes. This is dinner." He said stiffly, staring at the lasagna, his arm still around her waist. _She's very thin. Is she eating well? Wait. What the hell am I doing._ He quickly let go of Misao, his face staying blank by the force of sheer will. Her face was red. _Why was her face red? Was she training? She really shouldn't overdo it. Especially if she's not eating enough. Damn. There I go again._ "Thank you for the dinner." Aoshi's face was completely blank.

Misao stared at him. She looked worried. "Are you alright, Aoshi-sama? You've been working really hard, right?"

He stared back. "I am well. Thank you." He nodded. She nodded too. There was a silence. Aoshi broke it. "…That book, it has a sequel." He said quickly. _What's wrong with me? God, I'm awkward._

"Book?" Then she gasped raising a finger. "Oh! _That_ book! I keep trying to remember to give it back! I'll go do that! Just a second." Miso grinned, then turned and jogged away down the hallway.

Aoshi blinked then slowly took a bite of lasagna. As he chewed, his expression did not change. He swallowed. "This time she did add sugar instead of salt." He set the plate down on his desk and smiled fondly, despite himself.


	5. Chapter 5

**Saitou**

Saitou Hajime was in a foul mood. Or at least, in a more foul mood than usual. His ashtray was overflowing, his eyes were narrower than usual, and he was _smiling_. When Saitou Hajime smiled like that, you _ran_. When someone had excitedly hit the keys on the typewriter too loudly and leaned back with a sigh, Saitou had fixed the unfortunate man with such a glare that he had fallen off his chair. The fearful silence in the office was stifling.

"Sir?" asked a timid voice. "Could you please check my report?" Saitou's pen stopped its' scratching. Then he slowly turned to the speaker who stood, quaking in his boots, yet holding out a few sheets of paper with both hands.

"…Kosaburo." Saitou said slowly, breathing out smoke through his nose.

"S-sir?"

"What the hell is this?"

"S-s- _sir_?"

Saitou's face darkened. "Don't ' _sir_ ' me, dumbass. I can already see _two_ typing errors, a grammatical error and a _smudge_. This is only the first page. How-"

There was a knock on the office door and Saitou actually _growled_ at the interruption, looking away from the unfortunate officer with the report. The door opened a crack and a head poked in. "Yo, Saitou, how's it going! Is Okita around?"

Giving him a wry glance from under his eyebrows, Saitou stubbed out another cigarette. "No. What do you want, idiotic Harada?" Kosaburo took this opportunity to scamper away.

The younger man grinned and walked in, his arms folded behind his head. "Well gee, Saitou, don't look so happy to see me." He said and sat on the edge of the lieutenant's desk. There was a collective gasp at that, which the two of them ignored. Harada Sanosuke scratched his ear and yawned. "The thing, is Saitou, Mr. Hijikata's got some uh… Special business for you to do. It's pretty big this time. So he wants to see you." He pulled a face and parted his bangs in the middle, mimicking Hijikata's low voice and clipped, formal manner of speech. "It a matter of extreme importance, Harada."

"He _does_ realize that I have a lot of other things on my plate, right?" Saitou raised an eyebrow.

Harada shrugged sympathetically. "Not my call, boss. This is straight from Mr. Kondou and you know where he gets his stuff from." He smiled encouragingly and ignored Saitou's glare. "If things go as planned, then you'll be back home in time for Thanksgiving, so we don't have to piss off Tokio-san"

Saitou's jaw tightened and he blew more smoke out of his nose. "Why were you looking for that idiot Okita then?"

Again, Harada shrugged. "You know that guy. He settles down at his desk, does all this paperwork in record time, gats up and disappears somewhere."

Standing up suddenly and causing Harada to fall off his desk, Saitou stubbed out his cigarette. "I'm going to Vice-Captain Hijikata." He said. "Leave Okita alone for now." he smirked. "Take over for me, will you?"

Harada rubbed his head, raising himself off the floor and shrugging, watching the door slam behind Saitou, which caused a lot of wincing, then immense sighs of relief. Kosaburo poked his head out from behind his desk. "Sir?" he asked Harada. "Could you please check this for me?"

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Shaking rain from his coat and hanging it haphazardly on the coat-tree, Saitou stepped over the threshold of his home. Raucous laughter came from the kitchen and he rolled his eyes. "I'm home." He muttered, pulling off his gloves.

"You're late, Hajime-kun!" a voice called cheerfully from the pantry.

Saitou rolled his eyes again and made his way down the hall and into the kitchen. "Okita." He said dryly. "Why am I not surprised. People are looking for you all over the place at work – and here you are – drinking tea in my kitchen and chatting up my wife."

Okita pouted and took a sip of tea. "You're not exactly the chatty type, though, are you? Our poor Tokio-chan needs a bit of civilized company now and then, no?"

"Yes, in fact I do." Laughed she. Saitou was about to fire back a retort featuring his favorite choice of insult at the both of them, but the butt of a ladle in the ribs cut him off. "Now move, Hajime."

"I missed you too." Muttered Saitou.

Tokio brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. "Sure." She said. "But if this burns, I'm blaming you." She looked up and smiled. "Go get changed. You look like a wet dog."

Okita burst out laughing. "It's 'wolf', Tokio-chan, not 'dog', remember?" He said. Then he shook his head and leaned back comfortably in the kitchen chair. "I've always said, 'When Tokio-chan smiles, she's getting ready to insult you'." He dodged a playful poke from the ladle.

Saitou left and returned wearing dry clothing, Okita finished his tea and Tokio put the kettle on again, this time for herself and Saitou. After a while, Okita left and Tokio, noticing his pronounced cough at the chilly night air, wrapped him in one of her self-knitted woolen scarves. Saitou sat down heavily in a chair, leaning his elbows on the kitchen table and lighting a cigarette and Tokio followed him in.

"No matter how many times I tell you not to smoke in the kitchen, you're still not going to listen to me, so why do I even bother…" she muttered as Saitou raised an eyebrow. Tokio sat down opposite him and raised an eyebrow. "So when are you going to tell me what's bothering you, Hajime?" she asked. "There's something going on, right?"

"Astute as ever, woman."

"That's why you married me."

"No – I married you because you are the only person I know who can hold a decent verbal sparring match with for more than two seconds. …And you're also great in b-"

Tokio flicked a crumb at him. "No changing the subject."

He smirked and blew out a strand of smoke watching it dissolve into the air. After a while he looked back at her. "I'm having one of those… Annoying jobs again. I'll be gone for a week and back in time for Thanksgiving."

Nodding thoughtfully, Tokio also leaned her elbows on the table. "You better be." She said with an encouraging smile. "Tell me more."

Saitou nodded. "It's an undercover job that they're sending me on. And you know, I'm working alone again."

She smiled fondly but a little sadly. "My lone wolf."

"I'm going to arrest Wu Heishin and Takeda bloody Kanryuu – catch them red-handed. Hijikata told me it doesn't matter if they're dead or alive, as long as I get evidence of their wrongdoings." Saitou laughed dryly. "It's like I'm more of a bounty-hunter than a cop. But considering my past…" he stopped. "…And I suppose it's easier to kill them and bring evidence rather than have to bring them in alive."

"I suppose so." She nodded thoughtfully, tapping her fingers lightly. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to New York City on a train. Heishin's going to be on that train, and Kanryuu'll be in New York." Saitou lit another cigarette. "I'll finish everything and come back on the same day. The department are paying for everything so I can afford to splurge." He cleared his throat. "I'll… Buy you something in New York."

Tokio stood and put a hand on her husband's arm. "I'm not going to tell you to be careful, because that will insult your capability – and I believe in you above anything or anyone else. But I _will_ tell you to not die and come home in time for Thanksgiving Day. Make sure that when I read the headline of the daily newspaper I know more or less what you're doing."

Saitou stood to face her and smiled a little, taking her hand in both of his. "Sure. I'll do that."


	6. Chapter 6

**Megumi**

The station was rather less crowded than Megumi had expected. She had only brought a single large suitcase with her and regretted it. _It would have been better to travel light._ She began to pace back and forth, adjusting her wide-brimmed hat and tightening the fur coat around herself to keep the cold out. She looked at the pocket-watch in her handbag. _He's still not here? It's been ten minutes since the agreed time._

Megumi took a deep breath to calm herself and got out the two tickets to reassure herself. _He'll show up. I shouldn't worry about it. He seemed like the type of person who would be haphazard, didn't he? I mean, look at that_ hair _. Not that I disliked it but…_ She snorted and shook her head, remembering.

"Yo! Lady!" the call cut through her thoughts. _Oh good. The boy actually showed up,_ thought Megumi, as a tall young man with a small pack on his back and spiky hair waved at her through the crowd and ran over, breathing heavily. "My uh, landlady was harassing me. Sorry I'm late. The deal's not off, right?"

"No." she said. "It's not. As long as you had arrived before the train left. But you came. I didn't think you would." _Play it cool._

"Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow and grinned a little, his hands in his pockets. "You must have a ton of money to blow then, because I can see _two_ tickets in your hand." _Shit. He noticed. Just shut up already, smartass. Such an easygoing attitude annoys me._

"In fact I _do_ have a lot of money to blow. I am a rich woman with a lot of skills and don't you forget it." She handed him his ticket. "Remember the deal, Rooster-head."

"Rooster-head?" he looked at her reproachfully, then burst out laughing. "I'd get offended, but when a pretty lady gives you a nickname, things are getting serious." He avoided a kick from her stiletto-clad foot. "You know I have a name, right? Sagara Sanosuke. It's a good name – and don't nobody forget it." Megumi said nothing. Sanosuke spoke again. "So what's the ' _little_ _favor'_ , Fox-lady? Something illegal?" he asked. _Tell him later when he won't have a chance to get out of it._

"Fox-lady?" she asked incredulously, quickly changing the subject and looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Is that because foxes steal roosters from their chicken-houses and rip them to pieces in the forest?" her tone was bored, just slightly playful. "Are you expecting me to lure you somewhere far away and dispose of your dead body?" She sat on her large suitcase, crossing her legs at the knee.

"Well, _someone's_ feeling morbid today. Hopefully not." He grinned, leaning down to look at her. "Nope. I'm calling you Fox-lady…" He winked. "Because you're one hell of a _vixen_."

Megumi didn't know how to respond to that one. She began to smoke, black-gloved fingers tapping on the edge of her suitcase, refusing to meet his eyes. "The train." She said stiffly. "It leaves at eleven." _Am I being_ flustered _by a boy like this? Get your head in the game, Megumi._

"Huh?" Sanosuke scratched his head. "Why'd you call me here so early then?"

"Because I figured you'd be late for the train if I had said any earlier time. I gave you ample time to get here, so you should be thanking me. And… Shouldn't we both have some time to get to know each other?" Megumi raised an eyebrow. "We'll be travelling together after all." _I want to see if you're up for this. Beyond first impressions, I want to see who you are, Rooster-head._

He shrugged as if to say 'suit yourself'. "Uh… Well… Name's Sagara Sanosuke like I already said. Age twenty-three, single – on the market. Hint, hint." He winked at her again and Megumi rolled her eyes. "I like food, drink, gambling, but only a little, and fighting. Jack-of-all-trades but I don't keep jobs for long, can't imagine why, so I'm pretty much a part-timer." He shrugged again. "That's uh… It, really."

"Not that hard, was it?" she said a little patronizingly. "Now… I'm Take-" she stopped. _No. Not any more – if this goes through at least._ "Takani Megumi. Age twenty-seven. I like reading, driving and red wine. I'm…" she stopped again. Then a slow smile spread across her red-painted lips. "I'm a doctor." _I am a doctor._


	7. Chapter 7

**Soujiro**

Every morning, at around five o'clock, Seta Soujiro woke up and went out onto the rickety balcony that was joined onto his tiny, pleasantly cheap room. He watched the sun rise, the city gradually wake up. He smoked too – and liked watching the smoke curl around buildings.

At this time, he was a watcher. A passive presence of which no-one was aware. This was the time when he separated himself from humanity, before it was six o'clock and he got dressed, ate breakfast (or not) and went down onto the street only to mingle with the people he was so different from. Soujiro was self-aware enough to find this ironic. _In the end, my thoughts and worldview have nothing to do with the society that I live in._

Soujiro could say a few things about himself – one of which was that he liked people. Not _individuals_ really, (they were all kind of the same) but people as a whole. Humans. He liked them as animals that one could watch fascinatedly through the bars of a zoo cage, in _his_ case though the wrought-iron bars of the balcony and down onto the streets – or when he walked among them. He was mesmerized by these wonderful and ugly creatures of which he was one.

They were so _interesting_ and he – as someone who could not see himself as human – watched them with avid curiosity. They thought they were all so different but really – there were only three types. The few who were terribly naïve, the majority who thought they were 'good' and the few who knew they were 'bad'. Soujiro understood this. And watching the tiny figures on the dirty streets, avoiding each other, greeting each other, doing their things… He got a strange feeling.

It wasn't really a sense of _superiority_ that he got, as it was of _otherness_. He was _different_ from these humans – and if he was given the chance – he would stay as he was and watch from far above, on his rickety balcony, rather than join in, as he had to every day. Soujiro thought himself neither good nor bad – and was too disillusioned with the world to be naïve. He simply did what he was told because he had nothing else to do and because it was the way of staying alive for him.

And so, as Soujiro woke up he did this. He watched the city, he watched his smoke, he watched the sun rise. _It is foggy today,_ he thought. Then, when his watch said it was five-fifty (it ran ten minutes late) he tore himself away from that sight and retreated into his squalid room to prepare for the oncoming day. He dressed nicely but carelessly, loosely wearing a tie and a sleeker, better fitting black jacket that he did not button. He packed a small suitcase with essentials.

Breakfast was simple. Since he had no food _in_ side, he would go _out_ side to the Chinese bakery so that he could eat. He took his suitcase and locked the door, then walked down many flights of creaky stairs and managed to avoid his landlady, whom he had no interest in speaking with. _I'll pay her the month's rent when I get back, when Shishio-san pays me for a job well completed._ He could hear her yelling at someone else, however, broken English mixed with Italian swearwords and the feeble protests of whoever she was chewing out.

"Come on, lady!" he could hear the man whining. "I got a train to catch! I promise, I'll get ya the money-"

"No! You always say! Then you gamble and I wait like patient woman! And you bring me nothing! Why I not throw you out, huh? Goodness of my heart! I think, 'I am woman! Mother! I have son!' But _this_ how you do?! I know some people! They could throw you out like _this_!" a snap of fingers.

"Hey, hey – I'm sure we'll get stuff sorted, how about we-"

"Ehh! You annoying punk! I _know_ people!"

"I know people too! I know a nice guy, maybe you guys could meet up and get along, I'd set it u-" A string of swearwords in Italian and English interrupting him.

Soujiro almost laughed and then continued down the stairs. _A train to catch, huh? Me and you both,_ he thought.

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

His suitcase slung over his shoulder with a careless arm, Soujiro walked down the foggy streets, chewing on a steaming pork bun. He had a purpose in his step, but since he was in no hurry his paces were slow and meandering. He reached his destination – the store which hid Kamatari's bar, walked in and was ushered past the counter through the 'secret' door.

Dimly lit as always, the speakeasy was free of dead bodies this time. However, in the seat occupied by Soujiro the night before, sat a man in a large fur coat and white suit. His longish hair was pushed away from his face and he was smoking a cigar. Kamatari poured him a drink, dressed not in his bartender clothes, but one of his favorite dresses. "Soujiro-kun!" he called.

The man looked up and nodded. "Oh, here you are." He said to Soujiro, sounding rather unenthusiastic.

Soujiro smiled. "Good morning, Houji-san, Kamatari-chan."

Houji downed his drink. "Ah yes. Good, morning. Finally, now that you're here I can get down to business. This is going to be amazing. Shishio-sama came up with eighty percent of this plan."

Raising an eyebrow, Soujiro nodded slowly. "Is that so…" he said thoughtfully. _This is going to be rather more interesting than I originally thought._

"Oh! Goodness!" Riveted, Kamatari swung his legs over the counter and perched on its edge looking intently at Houji. Soujiro positioned himself so that Kamatari would be between himself and Houji, who spasmodically crossed his legs, then uncrossed them. His gloved hands clenched and unclenched inside the sleeves of his coat. Then he looked up and smiled, a certain mania around his eyes (or maybe it was the eye makeup – Soujiro couldn't really tell with Houji). "I'll give you the rundown of the plan!" he sounded excited.

Kamatari adjusted his cloche hat and smiled also. "This is going to be rather exciting, isn't it, Houji-san? I can see you're _very_ excited. I know _I_ am! Especially now that I know this is Shishio-sama's plan – it's going to be terribly exciting!"

Snorting, Houji nodded. "Oh yes." He drawled. "Yes. This is going to be _very_ exciting. Listen carefully."


	8. Chapter 8

Misao had a list of things that she wanted to achieve before she was thirty. It went something like this;

 _1 – Go on my tenth job before I'm twenty_ _ **-**_ _five._ _(And I_ just _turned twenty!)_

 _2 – Be able to hit a target with a knife from twenty feet._

 _3 – Make Aoshi-sama smile. (Still working on this one…)_

And so, on November the nineteenth, Misao woke up at five o'clock in the morning, brimming with excitement. _I'm going on my tenth official job! And I'm not twenty-five yet!_

She grinned, clenching her fists happily. _I'm! Going on! A! Trip! With Aoshi-sama! On a! Job! Ohmygosh! I'll definitely prove that I can handle everything!_ She pressed a fist to her mouth. _Oh! And we'll be sharing a room! A cabin? Whatever it's called when there's rooms on trains. Oh no!_ She giggled, her eyes widening at the realization.

 _That's just_ too _embarrassing! Oh goodness! What if I see him first thing in the morning with his hair all messy…? …Without a shirt on! Ooh, how_ terrible _!_ She couldn't suppress another giggle. _And he'll see me in my nightgown! How positively_ awful _! I'll make sure to wear the white silk one that's a bit too small for me. But how terribly_ dreadful! _Wouldn't it be_ horrible _if he saw me putting my garters on? And it would be absolutely_ appalling _if I thought that his bed was my bed and lay down next to him? Oh! That would be just_ frightful _! What if…_ Her cheeks flushed, she flopped back onto the bed, hugging her pillow and staring up at the ceiling, her daydreams running away with her. "Uwaa, no, Aoshi-sama, not ye-et!" she muttered ecstatically to herself, then brought herself up short, realizing that she had just said that out loud.

 _What the hell kind of a thing am I_ thinking _about?!_

Misao threw her pillow against the wall and rolled over onto her side, facing the wall, drawing her knees up to her chest and holding her head in her hands. _Like that's ever going to happen… He wouldn't give me a second thought as a woman. I'm still a kid to him. A kid he promised he'd protect. I'm probably too short and skinny to be his type anyway. And he'd be too busy to have a woman anyway. Or rather, he'd just probably have women but like… Not commitment. …Wait._ Does _he though?_

 _What am I doing, thinking about Aoshi-sama in such a way? I'm gonna end up contradicting myself anyway… Since I'm not the kind of person to give up before I've been turned down. And I'll probably do everything I can to get him to see me-_ "What the hell am I thinking?" she asked herself aloud.

"Really… I have no idea, but could you please refrain from sounding like a strangled chicken first thing in the morning?"

Blushing bright red, Misao shot up out of bed and turned around, to see Omasu standing in the doorway. "Have you packed yet?" she asked, sounding mildly amused.

Misao put a hand to her forehead. "Crap! No! Thank you for reminding me!" She hurriedly got under her bed and pulled out a medium-sized suitcase.

Omasu nodded. "Better do that. I'll help you."

"Thanks!" Misao packed underclothes. Sighing, she packed a pair of trousers and a shirt, then she grinned. "Omasu-san?"

"Yes?"

"What dresses look the best on me?"

Omasu opened Misao's small closet. Three dresses hung on wire hangers. One brown with pink trim, simple and dowdy. One that she could have worn at twelve but would've had issues squeezing into now. One was just full of holes, mostly moth-related but one of which looked suspiciously like a bullet hole. She shook her head. "No. Just… No. That's the answer to your question." She said. "Wait here. I have a few that I bought and were too small for me." Omasu winked. "Don't worry. I have… The ah, type of thing you're looking for."

Misao nodded eagerly. _I'll look sexy and alluring, while at the same time be a total badass and Aoshi-sama will fall head-over-heels in love with me like I am with him. Or at least that's the plan._

Omasu came back with two dresses. One was red, opening the shoulders and ending at the knee. The other was black and rather long, but with a slit on one side that went halfway up the thigh. As Misao packed those, along with the nightgown and a pair of black pumps, Omasu began to laugh.

"What's funny?" asked Misao, shutting the suitcase with relative ease.

"Nothing." She said. "Just don't distract the boss _too_ badly, alright, Misao-chan? There _is_ a job to do, you know." she smiled and left, saying something about breakfast.

"Distract?" Misao repeated. "Eh?" _What does_ that _mean?_

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Misao and Aoshi took a cab from the mansion, both armed with a gun inside their jacket. "Heishin will be travelling first class." Aoshi said. "His bodyguards are always with him. If facing him straight on – one of us will distract the bodyguards while the other goes for Heishin. Normally, I would say that you take Heishin out while I gun down his 'four-star service', but I have not much of an idea as to how things will turn out, so we may have to improvise."

 _Holy shit, did Aoshi-sama just make a joke? Four-star service? Does that mean he remembered my joke from yesterday?_ "Right." Misao nodded. "No long-distance shooting? I have a machine gun and a couple of pistols in my luggage but I didn't bring anything like that…."

"I brought a rifle if it were to come to that. It has to be assembled, but it's in my suitcase. If the opportunity arises to shoot him from afar – I would greatly prefer it to a head-on collision. But Heishin is known for his paranoia and tight security. Ever since he allied himself with Kanryuu, more and more people have wanted to kill him. So he acts accordingly."

The taxi pulled to a stop. They got out and walked towards the train station. "Aoshi-sama?"

"Yes?"

Misao walked a little behind Aoshi as he shouldered his way through the crowd. "You said before that there were other groups involved in this particular train ride. It can't all be because of Heishin, right? Is there some sort of a drug deal going on? An assassination?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know." Aoshi said. "But I intend to find out. Our sources recently have become… Less than reliable. One of our main informants was recently taken in my by the police and another has disappeared. Apparently he's working for Shishio Makoto now."

"That New York big-shot? Seriously? I heard he just kills people when they stop being useful to him. A guy who finished a job for Shishio was never heard from again and all those kind of things." Misao shook her head.

"We'll have to adapt."

"Yea-" At that moment, a porter bumped into Misao and she fell backwards, her heavy suitcase unbalancing her further. But before she could land painfully on the floor, she found an arm round her waist Aoshi's face inches away from hers. "Oh…!" she breathed, dumbstruck.

"…Careful." He said, letting go, his face blank as usual.

"Y-yeah!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Aoshi**

Aoshi sat on one of the two seats in their compartment. Misao had unfolded hers into a bed already. She had called the one by the window and Aoshi had watched with amusement as she had laid spread-eagled, then as the train jerked to a start she had fallen off, laughing. Her happiness was infectious and he suppressed a smile as she sat up on the floor, rubbing her head, still laughing.

Then she had gotten up, sat on her bed and looked at him. "Aoshi-sama, should I go and find out where Heishin's room is? I'll take note of all the other passengers too." Her face was serious, no hint of the laughing girl just a minute ago.

He nodded. "Be careful and try to be inconspicuous."

"Me? My middle _name_ is inconspicuous!"

"You don't have a middle name." he said with some confusion.

"It's an expression." She laughed. "I'll be careful!" She left, closing the door carefully behind her. Aoshi sat down for a moment, then stood and opened the door, looking both ways down the swaying corridor of the train. Finding that no-one was there, he closed it again. He took off his coat, his jacket, his vest and his tie for ease of movement, laying them neatly on his bed. Then he opened the narrow window and carefully climbed onto the roof of the moving train.

He crouched there, the wind blowing his hair and ruffling his collar. Aoshi rolled up his sleeves and got his bearings. He silently calculated the distance between each train car and the distance of the train cars themselves. Too far to jump comfortably – but definitely possible. He could see that there was a hatch on the roof of a car one down from his.

As he reckoned the distance of his car to the engine, he became aware of another presence on the roof. Aoshi turned and for a brief moment – he saw a flash of red hair and a slight figure disappearing into the window of a car two down from his. _It couldn't be…_ His eyes widened and his hand went to the knife he had strapped to his upper arm.

Then Aoshi shook his head. _No. He's dead. Disappeared ten years ago. There's no way. I'm stressed out and must have seen a bird._ He relaxed a little.

Aoshi sat down more comfortably and lit a cigarette, mentally outlining a plan of action and a backup plan for the job. _Plan A, Plan B, Plan C… And Plan D. But let's hope things don't come to that. Misao would say I am worrying too much and if we actually went through with Plan D… She'd be very annoyed. But I somehow have a bad feeling about this. And Misao… She must be back now. I've been up here for a while. I'd better be getting back._

He stubbed out his cigarette and swung down through the window just as Misao lay down on her bed with a huff.

By some good-natured yet puckish trick of fate, Aoshi ended up over top of her, one hand by her ribs and the other by her head, his knees on either side of her hips, faces inches away, breath quickened. _Oh shit-_

Then she met his eyes. And he had no idea what to do. His mind, for the first time in _years_ , was completely and absolutely blank. All he could see were her wide sea-green eyes with fluttering eyelashes, her soft-looking lips parted in shock, a light blush dusting her cheeks. He could only think of her lithe frame beneath him and her heaving ribs, a surprised gasp of air and his name coming from her mouth. "A-Aoshi-sama…!?"

When he could finally open his mouth and form semi-coherent words, all he said was, "…I …Checked the roof." Then, much more calmly than he felt, he got up and put on his tie, vest and jacket. Then, pausing, he turned back to her, willing the pounding in his chest to slow. "Did you see a man with-" She was still sitting on the bed, her legs folded under her, breathing hard, hand over her heart. "…Are you alright?" he asked carefully.

With a quick blink Misao's facial expression instantaneously changed into that of mock reproof. "Oh, honestly, Aoshi-sama! Please be careful! You scared me pretty bad right there. My heart is really pounding right now, you know?" she waggled a finger at him.

 _As is mine. For a very different reason, I think. Shit. …These are going to be a very long three days. The job. Think of the job. No time for things like this. What am I even thinking. I'm not thinking. I need to be more careful. The job. The job._ "I apologize." He said. "I did not realize you would be back so quickly. So, where is Heishin?"

"A carriage down from us. Third room down." She said. "Two bodyguards in front of the door and two inside. When we were boarding I saw a metal curtain in front of the window. I'm eighty percent sure that it was Heishin's window. It's infuriating – almost like he knows we're gonna kill him."

"He's expecting a hit. But nobody could've tipped him off about us. The only people who know about this are Okina, the two of us and the four back at the mansion. So there must be someone else as I had feared." Aoshi nodded thoughtfully. "I see…" he looked up frowning, another thought coming to him. _I just have to make sure_. "Did you see a man with red hair and a scar on his left cheek?"

Misao folded her arms. "Well there _was_ a guy with red hair, but he didn't have a scar. He was really nice and he was so polite I thought I had done something wrong." She laughed. "He kind of sounds like a lady and he's rather short."

Still frowning, Aoshi tapped his fingers on the wall. "Did he have anyone with him?"

"Yeah!" Misao nodded. "His wife is a journalist and they have two boys, a fourteen-year-old and a four-year old." She shrugged. "I think the older kid is adopted."

"…I see."

Misao looked curiously at him, but didn't ask.


	10. Chapter 10

**Kenshin**

Himura Kenshin was a little bit disappointed that Shinomori Aoshi was on the same train as him and his family. He knew, with a sort of annoyed certainty that the man would bring up past events and somehow ruin the family outing to New York. But maybe not. After all, he had a young woman with him.

Maybe Aoshi had settled down – but Kenshin doubted it. It seemed too unlikely, especially since he had seen Aoshi on the roof taking stock of every possibility and surroundings – and the girl herself, very casually and surreptitiously – _professionally_ , staking out Wu Heishin and evaluating the other passengers. Aoshi's eyes were still the same as they were ten years ago. And the girl's eyes were similar enough.

 _It's kind of sad really. She looks barely twenty and she's already involved in things like that,_ he thought. _She seems nice enough, though._ _Yet there is a strong smell of blood around her that her cheerful demeanor doesn't completely cover._ Despite it sounding slightly melodramatic, Kenshin really didn't know how else to put it.

"Kenshin."

 _…_

"Ke-enshin."

 _…_

" _Kenshin!_ "

"O-oro!" Kenshin was jerked from his thoughts by his wife's voice. "A-ah! Kaoru-dono! Is something the matter?"

"Sheesh." She said, running a hand over her ponytail. "That's what I should be asking _you_." Kaoru looked at him, her blue eyes worried, laying a hand on his arm. "Are you okay? Did something happen? You only look like that when you're thinking about… Back _then_."

He smiled. "This one saw a few people I recognized, indeed I did." Seeing her face, he went on. "Shinomori Aoshi – head of the Oniwabanshu syndicate – he's with a subordinate, or maybe she's something else – and Saitou Hajime – he's a police detective now. I don't know what he could be investigating here, but… Things are much different. It's 1931 after all, indeed it is!" Kenshin attempted to reassure her. "This one's hair is all short now and you've helped my cover the scar, Kaoru-dono. I'm unrecognizable, indeed I am!" he smiled. "This one is a new man now."

"You better stay safe, okay?" she asked, taking his hand.

Kenshin looked at her and brushed her bangs away from her face. "With a wife like you to protect me, I am safer by your side than anywhere, I should think." He smiled.

"You really are a dumbass, you know…" Kaoru muttered fondly as she settled against his shoulder.

Kenshin smiled wider, squeezing her hand. "This one knows very well, Kaoru-dono. You say it every time you mean to say 'I love you'."

On the seat opposite, on the other side of the compartment, he could see Yahiko and Kenji exchange looks and stick out their tongues in a mime of throwing up. Kenji giggled as Yahiko mimed puking once more and Kenshin fondly shook his head.


	11. Chapter 11

**Misao**

 _Did that actually happen?! That happened! Holy shit! Maybe my dreams are coming true! My fantasies are coming to life!_ She glanced quickly at Aoshi, who was reading, then looked quickly away.

 _Just_ wham _and he's over top of me! And his shirt's all unbuttoned sleeves are rolled up! And he's breathing really hard. All he needed to say was, 'Misao I have loved you forever' and we're good. But no._

 _No. He just has to spoil it by saying, 'I checked the roof.' Are you kidding me, Aoshi-sama? Especially with such a deadpan expression! That's the least sexy thing you could have said at that moment! Well, it was better than I could have hoped for. Although I do rather feel sorry for him. Now he knows I'm constantly slobbering over him in my mind. Well maybe not that far. But he can definitely feel something weird about me._

She put a hand to her forehead. _Ah. And now there's gonna be a bit of sexual tension. But it'll pass. We'll kill Heishin and go home. And things will go back to being like usual – and I'll just kind of dream of the one time Aoshi-sama looked like he was gonna make out with me but-actually-he-was-slipping-in-through-the-train-window-and-accidentally-landed-on-me._ Misao sighed, drawing her knees up to her chest and casting another furtive glance at Aoshi.

And he was looking straight at her, an enigmatic expression in his ice-blue eyes. "I…-" they both started. "…Never mind." They both said at the same time. Then Misao stood up. "They're gonna serve dinner in the dining car soon." She said with a grin. "I'm gonna get changed."

Aoshi nodded wordlessly and stepped outside leaning against the door. Misao breathed a sigh and opened her suitcase. After a minute's deliberation, she chose the red dress. Digging further in the bag, she found her jewelry box and put on a necklace with small black beads. As she slipped on her heels, she tapped the door. "I'm done! You can come back, Aoshi-sama."

He stepped in and glanced at her, then back at his book. Then he blinked, slowly closed the book and looked back at Misao.

"How do I look?" Misao laughed and gave a twirl, undoing her hair from its habitual braid and letting her hair cascade in waves around her shoulders.

"…Good." He said it very quietly.

Misao glanced up at him and saw that he had a hand over his face. "Are you alright, Aoshi-sama? Do you have a headache or something? We don't have to go to dinner if you don't want. I'll go ask the staff for some headache medicine!"

Aoshi looked at her. Maybe it was a trick of the light, something about the setting sun through the window of the train and the shadow of hills and posts, but she could've sworn he smiled at her tiredly. "I am fine. Let's go."

"O-okay!"

The dining car was not crowded. In fact, there were very few people taking their dinner there. Wu Heishin sat in the corner, eating pasta, two bodyguards on both sides of his chair and two sitting at the table on either side of him. "They look like they're posing for a group photo." Misao whispered to Aoshi. He looked vaguely amused.

Other occupants of the dining car included the red-haired man's wife and children, but no sign of the man himself. There was a sophisticated-looking woman with a black cigarette holder at a table for two. A raucous man with spikily messy hair sat with her. In the corner, a young man sat with a woman who had her back to Misao, both of them reading the menu very intently. When Misao glanced at him, he looked up immediately and smiled sweetly. Misao smiled back and noticed that he had very pretty sky-blue eyes. There was a man with blond hair that seemed to defy gravity and stick straight up in the air like a broom. There was a man with angrily narrowed eyes and slicked back hair leaning against the wall by the door and smoking like a factory. He glared at everyone in turn as they walked though the door. For some reason, he looked vaguely familiar to Misao, but she couldn't think of where she could've seen him before.

"Ah, Misao-dono! We meet again!" Misao turned around. The red-haired man from earlier smiled at her.

She grinned back. "Oh, hello Mr. Himura! You having a nice trip so far?"

"Oh yes, indeed we are! Kenji has always loved trains…" he trailed off, just as Misao felt Aoshi's heavy hand on her shoulder.

At first it was hard to tell the voice came from Aoshi. " _Battousai._ " He growled, his hand going inside his jacket, as if to reach for his gun.

"Just Himura Kenshin now, actually." Said Kenshin pleasantly but with an edge to his voice. "The Battousai… Died ten years ago."

"…And the scar?" asked Aoshi.

Kenshin smiled slightly, his hand going up to his left cheek. "Makeup. It's wonderful what it can do, isn't it?"

Misao raised an eyebrow. "You guys know each other?"

Aoshi's grip on her shoulder tightened. Kenshin's smile decreased. "It was a long time ago, indeed it was." He said calmly. "This one… Had some dealings with the Oniwabanshu in the distant past." Aoshi's hold tightened further.

"Aoshi-sama…" she said evenly and very quietly, out of the corner of her mouth. "That kind of hurts."

"I apologize." He let go, his hand still inside his jacket, his jaw clenched tightly.

She looked at him, putting her hand on his arm, speaking very quietly. "Please do not start a shoot-out in the middle of the dining car, Aoshi-sama. We do not want to attract undue attention to ourselves, right? I dunno about history between you and Himura, but that shouldn't mess with our plans."

Aoshi took a deep breath. "Yes."

Kenshin shrugged, smiling a little. "Truly, this one poses no threat to you here. I assume you're here on business and not just on a pleasure trip?" His eyes flicked to Heishin for a split second. "If you two like, let us have dinner together, no?"

Misao smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Himura!" Aoshi nodded.

They sat at the table with Himura Kaoru – Kenshin's wife, Himura Kenji – the younger son who looked almost exactly like Kenshin. The older boy introduced himself as Myojin Yahiko, then quickly corrected it to ' _Himura_ Yahiko at this point, I guess'. At that, Kenshin beamed and Kaoru looked very emotional.

Misao chatted with Kenji, Kaoru and Kenshin, while Yahiko sat like a sullen teenager, eating everything in sight. Aoshi was quiet, but he seemed to have loosened up a little after Kenji had whacked Kenshin in the nose with a spoon and everyone had laughed. Misao looked at him and let out the breath she had been unconsciously holding. _I dunno who Himura used to be, but he seems like a very kind family-man kind of person. He adopted one kid, has another and he seems happily married. I don't even see him packing any heat._

After they had finished dinner, Aoshi got up, saying he was tired and would go read in the cabin and he hoped they would excuse his rudeness. He lightly tapped her shoulder four times as he went by, which meant, _I'm going to go check it out – be back soon_ , 'it' in this case probably being Heishin's room. Misao nodded imperceptibly.

After he had left, Kaoru poured Misao a glass of sparkling water. "Pardon me for asking something so rude…" she said. "But are you and Aoshi-san married?"

Misao's eyes widened and she choked, beginning to cough, her face bright red to match her dress. Yahiko looked up from his third plate of steak. "I think we should take that as a no." he said with his mouth full. "Way to go, Kaoru."

"You, shut up." Muttered Kaoru at Yahiko, who made a face. Looking at Misao, Kaoru looked embarrassed. "I'm really sorry!"

Putting a hand over her chest in an effort to get her breath back, Misao laughed a little. "No such thing, Kaoru-san." She said. "Aoshi-sama's my… Boss, really. We kind of grew up together as well."

Kenji grinned. "Well, Misao-neechan, since you really lo-ove Aoshi-niichan, you should hurry up and get married and have a kid so I can have someone to play with on this bo-oring trip!"

This time everyone choked.

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Misao left the table an hour later, smiling and excusing herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kenshin looking intently at the man smoking by the door, and she was sure that he had nodded. She made a note of it and wondered whether she should tell Aoshi yet, or if he would whip out his gun just like that. As she exited, glancing at the smoking man very casually – as if she was just looking around the room, her eyes just skipping over him – but he caught her glance and smirked.

She pretended as if she hadn't noticed and continued to look around.

As she walked by, he raised an eyebrow and blew out a puff of smoke. "Careful, Weasel kid." He said quietly, his lips barely moving. "A much bigger predator has his eye on Heishin." His narrow amber eyes seemed to glow. "Tell Shinomori that."

She swung around, gasping, but the door had already swung closed. Misao picked up her pace and almost ran down the hall. As she crossed between carriages, she stopped, sensing something off. Poking her head in, she saw Aoshi speaking with one of the 'four gods'. _How is that? Weren't they all in the dining car just now?_

 _Did he get caught? He couldn't've!_ Straining her ears, she tried to make out their conversation. _Is that_ Chinese _?! Aoshi-sama can speak Chinese?!_ She craned her neck further around the corner, and Aoshi caught her gaze over the large man's shoulder. He blinked once, bringing his arms down to hang loosely by his sides, meaning, _It's fine. Wait._

Misao grinned in answer – and when they were done speaking, she ran over to Aoshi. "How'd it go?" she asked when they were inside.

Aoshi looked smug (about as smug as he could while not moving any of his facial muscles) and nodded. "Well." He said. "That went very well." He took off his jacket and sat down on his seat. "Heishin will see us tomorrow."

"Awesome!" Misao's grin widened and she swung her legs excitedly. As if by the way she asked him something. "Hey, Aoshi-sama?" she said, turning her back to him and beginning to braid her hair.

"Yes?"

She paused, then continued. "You know the guy by the door? The chain-smoker with bangs like antenna and eyes like a psychopath?"

Aoshi sounded vaguely amused by the description. "What about him?"

"He… Doesn't look weirdly familiar to you?" she turned around, tying a ribbon around the end of her braid. "I think I know him from somewhere… Or he looks like someone I know." _Well, there's that and the fact that he, a) called me by a nickname that only very few people know - and b) knew that Aoshi-sama and I were after Heishin._

"Not really, although… I understand what you mean." Aoshi said. "When we get to New York, I'll have someone look him up."

Misao nodded, a little bit relieved. Then another thought came to her. _Oh. It'll be time to go to sleep soon._ A mischievous grin spread across her face and she pulled down the shade over the window. "Aoshi-sama, I'm gonna get changed into my nightgown now, so could you please turn your back?"

Aoshi nodded, turning his back and picking up a book from his suitcase.

Slipping out of her red dress and standing in her slip, Misao dug around in her suitcase for the nightgown. She got it on, surprised by how tight it was over her chest since the last time she had worn it (three years ago). With a snap, she divested herself of her garter and stretched out on the fold-out bed, leaving her stockings on. "You can turn 'round now, Aoshi-sama." She said, yawning.

To her disappointment, he didn't glance at her, just settled back to his previous position, his gaze fixed on the book. After a while, he reached out and took a cigarette, not lighting it. Misao decided it was attack time. She took a cigarette out of her pack and smirked around it, lighting it. Slipping her heels back on as she got off her bed, she walked up to him. "Need a light, Aoshi-sama?" she asked.

"If you would be so kind." He said, his gaze steadfastly on the book. "I think the matches are in your bag."

She grinned. "Who needs matches?" leaning closer, so that he was forced to look up from the book, she smiled and touched the tip of her cigarette to his until his lit. She drew back with a grin.

Aoshi blinked and cleared his throat. "How efficient." He said, a little too loudly.

Misao pulled a pack of cards out and began to shuffle them. "Wanna play, Aoshi-sama?"

He set aside his book. "Why not."

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Misao had lost every game of cards out of five and she saw how Aoshi had watched her growing annoyance with quiet amusement. Finally she had dozed off, laying on her stomach, tightly holding her hand of cards.

Aoshi threw down his final card, the ace of hearts, and leaned back, smiling a little. Misao swam back into relative awake-ness when a blanket was folded over her. She kept her eyes closed and felt a gentle hand smoothing her hair away from her face. At this, her breath caught and her eyelids fluttered open. She saw for a moment an enigmatic expression on his face, something overpowering and gentle and strange that she had never seen before – mixed with so much sadness.

When he noticed her eyes open he drew back, his face returning to its usual blank state. "Go to back to sleep." He said quietly. "We're going to be rather busy tomorrow." With a slight nod, he dimmed the lights and settled back into his seat, beginning to read.

Misao shut her eyes and had no trouble sinking back into sleep, a slight smile on her face. _This is probably more complicated… But I just really like how his hand is so warm and how he's so nice, despite what he acts like around other people. If Aoshi-sama is nearby, of course I can fall asleep just like that, with no worries. If Aoshi-sama is here, there's nothing to even worry_ about _!_

If she had kept her eyes open for just a little longer, Misao would've seen how white his knuckles were as he clutched the book, looking at the pages but not seeing them.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sanosuke**

Sanosuke was not usually a person who ever felt uncomfortable. He prided himself on being very 'chilled out' and 'laid-back', able to easily feel relaxed in any situation. But this was a bit too much for him. It had all started when he entered the first-class cabin. _I don't think they're called cabins on train, but whatever. But damn, that is_ not _what I should be thinking. What kinda dough does this foxy lady have?! This place is_ huge! _I could probably fit my entire room back in Chicago here and there'd be tons of space left over._

He looked over his shoulder back at Megumi, a bead of sweat running down his cheek and the corner of his mouth twitching in a frightened smile. "Uh, so I'm staying in _there_? How illegal is this _favor_ exactly?"

Megumi raised an eyebrow. "It's not even that big, Rooster-head. Where have you been staying?"

"Well, _damn_ , lady. I've been livin' it up in a normal _apartment_ room. Sorry I'm not rich enough to afford a mansion like you." He snorted.

Rolling her eyes, Megumi walked across the room and opened the adjoining door. "There's my room. Don't go in there if you value your life." She smiled. "Have fun in your mansion, Rooster-head."

"Oi, oi." He muttered. "You don't have to be jerky about it."

Throwing his jacket off and tossing down his pack on the seat across from himself, he sat down on the floor and leaned his head back against the seat, exhaling. _Whatever this is I've gotten myself into, there's no backing out now. I'm a man who keeps his promises – and that's a mysterious lady who I don't know anything about. But that'll happen later. I'll cross those bridges when I come to 'em._

 _I just gotta focus on the good stuff. Captain Sagara is alive!_

 _But…_ The thought suddenly came to Sanosuke and he spoke aloud. "Why hasn't he contacted anyone?" _He could've at least_ told _me or Katsu that he was alive! That he was okay!_ Sanosuke stood up and drove his fist into the upholstery of the seat with a growl. _Am I angry at him? Am I just sad? What the hell is this?!_ His fist was buried in the soft seat with another punch. _I…!_ A punch. " _Don't…!_ " Another punch. " _Understand!_ "

He sank to his knees with a frustrated growl. "What the hell is this…?" _Shouldn't I be so happy? Shouldn't I?_

Sanosuke lay stretched out on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. How was he supposed to understand this? He couldn't. So, lulled by the slight rocking of the train he closed his eyes and figured, y'know, things usually make more sense after sleep.

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Sagara Sanosuke woke up slightly disoriented. He was laying down on a carpeted floor, staring up at a slightly swaying light, and a stilettoed foot was poking him in the ribs. "Come on, come on. Oh, just wake _up_ , Rooster-head." Muttered an annoyed woman's voice.

He sat up, blinking and yawning, the world coming back into focus. "Oh… Hey there, Fox-lady."

She smiled wryly. "Do you always sleep like a log?"

Grinning, he stood up, dusting himself off. "Not always. Sometimes I sleep like an entire cabin."

Megumi snorted. "That's not even funny."

"You laughed." He raised an eyebrow.

"It was less of a laugh than a derisive snort at your failed attempt to be amusing."

"Ouch, Fox-lady. You really don't pull your punches."

"And you're an idiot."

"That's completely not related to the subject at hand here." He retorted. "I'm a funny guy, admit it."

"Never." She smirked.

"I bet you that you'll admit it at some point." He smirked back.

"You're on, Rooster-head." Megumi rolled her eyes. "Why am I even wasting time here." She muttered. "I came to wake you up and tell you that it's dinner time soon. They're serving it in the dining car, so try and look presentable." Noticing his wary glance she waved her hand. "The food's on me, so don't worry."

At that, Sanosuke grinned and ran a hand through his hair. "What's wrong with how I look now, Fox-lady? I think I look _plenty_ presentable."

"Hm." She snorted. Rolling her eyes again, she turned and stepped back into her quarters. "Try again, Rooster-head. Be ready in fifteen minutes." She poked her head back out of the door before closing it as an afterthought. "There's a hole in the elbow of your shirt." Then the door swung closed with a snap.

Sanosuke scratched the back of his neck, trying not to grin, but unable. "…Yeah."

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

"Hurry up, Rooster-head!" there was the frustrated sound of heels clicking as she tapped her foot pointedly. Megumi's door opened and she raised a finger to berate him when she blinked. "What… What are you doing?"

Sanosuke was sitting cross-legged on the floor, his shirt off and a thread in his mouth, a needle dangling between his fingers. He bit the thread and stood up, holding up the shirt and examining his handiwork. The hole in the elbow had been sewn up, by no means professionally, but passably. "Fixin' my shirt." He said. "Thanks for pointing that hole out." He said with a smirk. "I've been sewing it up."

Megumi crossed her arms and didn't look at him, her cheeks tinged a slightly darker shade of pink than usual. "Put your shirt back on. Idiot."

His smirk widened and he laughed a little. "Sure thing, Fox-lady." He turned his back to her and slipped his shirt over his shoulder and began to button it up, before realizing that he had made a mistake. He had turned his back towards her – and he knew she had noticed by the sharp intake of breath.

"You know what it means, right?" she slowly asked. "That tattoo?"

Pausing in his buttoning, he took a deep breath, slowly, in and out. "Evil." He said. "It means evil." His shoulders rose and fell with a laugh devoid of mirth. "Believe me, Fox-lady, I know exactly what it means."

He turned back to face her and took note of the shock and confusion on her face. "Why would you have that tattooed on your back?"

Sanosuke looked down, took another deep breath and opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, looking slightly surprised at himself. _Was I seriously about to tell this woman just now?_ He thought, his eyes widening a little. He looked up again and his face split into a grin. "'Cause I'm a bad boy, that's why." He said laughingly, the wide grin somehow not reaching his eyes. He threw on his jacket and opened the door leading to the hallway. "Come on, Fox-lady, I'm hungry." He grinned again.

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

"Dif if real' goo' foo''." Sanosuke said through a mouthful. With a large swallow he managed to make more sense. "I swear, this food is great." He managed, before beginning to stuff himself again, shoveling food into his mouth at a high speed.

Megumi raised an eyebrow, daintily lifting a fork to her mouth. "You're eating like you've lived through a famine." She said with a good-natured smile. "Make sure you remember to breathe, huh, Rooster-head?"

Sanosuke swallowed forcefully again and shrugged a little. "Well, I dunno if a fancy Fox-lady would understand, but…" he grinned, showing that he was joking. "For a guy like me, who doesn't know where his next meal is coming from, or _if_ his next meal is coming at all, I gotta eat as much as I can, 'cause I dunno when I'll be eating again, yeah?"

Slowly nodding, Megumi flagged down a waiter and ordered more mashed potatoes and gravy – Sanosuke's favorite out of the menu items. "Eat all you want, Rooster-head." she said quietly.

He looked at her oddly but didn't say anything, chewing away. He noticed how she sat a bit too straight, ate very slowly and carefully and how her eyes would always slowly drift to the table at the back and then quickly dart back to her food., Sano craned his neck to see who was sitting at that table and noticed there a short Chinese man eating pasta with four hulking men sat. _Does she know him? He looks like a tough customer. Look at those guys. Whew! And look at that suit and that cigar! He must be hella rich. Mobster? Or businessman? Diplomat, maybe?_

"Hey, so, Fox-lady…" said Sanosuke after finishing his fourth plate of food. "I figured, y'know, mystery gives a lady allure and whatever, but I gotta know what I'm doin'. Exactly how dangerous is this job? What's the chance of me ending up in the clink? Who are you, _really_?"

Megumi took her time, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin, reapplying lipstick and straightening in her chair. "I have to ask you a question too."

Sanosuke raised his eyebrows, awaiting. "Shoot."

"What do you think of poppy? Opium."

"Well, that's a cheerful topic around the dinner table." He muttered. There was no hesitation. "Hate it. Well, the flowers are pretty – I hate the people who turn it into a thing like that. I hate 'em." His mouth was set in a grim line and he looked her in the eyes. "I knew a guy, good gambling buddy of mine, sweet wife, cute kid. He invited me over to his place a few times and his kid would be cimbin' all over me and the missus made the best coffee ever – ain't no coffee like that in all of Chicago. We'd get together on the weekends, y'know, go out throw the dice, then out for a drink. One day though, he stopped comin'." Sanosuke paused, then sighed, looking at her worriedly. "Are you sure you wanna hear this? This isn't something you talk about to ladies over dinner."

She nodded wordlessly, her knuckles white from clutching at the tablecloth.

He sighed again and took a deep breath. "Well, I show up to his house, I'm worried, y'know? He's gone, he and his family packed up and gone too. That's when I got _real_ worried, see. I tracked them for a few days, askin' people everywhere across town. Finally found 'em. Slums. Total hellhole. His place looked even worse than mine on a bad day. I found out that he'd been addicted to the stuff, then the price'd gone up so he'd sold everything." Sanosuke was shaking with anger, remembering. "Everything. Just to smoke some more of that shit. The missus was sellin' 'er body just to get by, the kid was starvin', picking pockets to feed himself. Guy himself is just laying there in the corner, collecting flies until he gets up and starts beating them. That shit… It turns even the greatest guys into monsters. That's why I hate the people who make and sell it."

Megumi's face was expressionless, save for a single tear running down her cheek. Sanosuke paused, noticing it. "Come on, Fox-lady, don't force yourself. If you don't wanna hear no more, just tell me." He said gently. "You don't gotta cry, alright? I figured something out for them, see? It's not your fault."

At that, another tear dropped and she shifted, bringing the napkin to her eyes. "No." she said sharply. "Please continue. I apologize."

Sanosuke looked at her with concern but shrugged. "If you're sure, lady." He said, then continued. "I was so angry at him, I just left him there. He probably needed help, and when I think back, I was probably a coward and it was my fault he died. He'd jumped off a bridge after there were no more drugs for him. But I took the missus and the kid and put them up at my place." He looked at Megumi to make sure she was alright and patted her hand on the table, then pulled away, realizing how that must've come across. "I got part-time job as a mechanic, a part-time job at a canning factory and another part-time job at a restaurant." He snorted. "I might've stolen a few cans from the factory and a bit of food from the restaurant also, but… Shh." He sighed, looking down. "See, this was all during the winter and the missus got sick pretty bad. It was the pneumonia an' she… She started coughing up blood. I did my best but… Before the winter was out…" his jaw tightened. "It was just me and the kid."

Megumi bit her lip.

He paused, pouring himself a full glass of sparkling water and downing it. "I wasn't gonna let anything happen to him. That kid… He had nobody else, see? I couldn't just put him into an orphanage, those place are shit." He drank more. "I knew that the factories would accept a ten-year-old kid but… I couldn't do that to him. And I'd just lost my restaurant job, and got fired from the mechanic job. So I went ahead and joined the mob."

"…Just like that?" she blinked.

Sanosuke smiled tiredly. "No, not just like that. I had to call in a few favors, bash a few heads." He sighed, smiling a little. "Things sort of evened out from there. Boss Shinomori might be one hell of a ruthless bastard, but he's as fair as blind justice and takes care of his people better than some take care of their families. I was in the bottom of the hierarchy, see? So even though we were better off, every day was a fight. That's when I met Kenshin." Sanosuke laughed out loud and shook his head. "Oh _damn_ that was hilarious."

Megumi raised an eyebrow. "Hilarious?"

"Well, you see…" said Sanosuke with a grin, taking a swig of sparkling water straight from the bottle, not noticing Megumi's wince. "You got this shortass who looks like a girl, right? But he takes me down like _that_." Sanosuke snapped his fingers with a loud laugh. "Takes me out, then makes me re-evaluate my life choices, ropes me into a crazy adventure involving some insane hypnosis hitman after some senator, then adopts the kid. I don't think the kid ended up taking Kenshin's last name though. He's still Myojin Yahiko, not Himura."

Slowly nodding, Megumi winced as Sanosuke, yet again, took a swig of sparkling water from the bottle. "I see." She said quietly. "…I understand."


	13. Chapter 13

**Soujiro**

"Kamatari-chan, if you don't hurry, I'm going to leave without you, you know." Soujiro said playfully, tapping his fingers on the wheel of the car.

Kamatari glared at him from under heavy eyelashes. "That would be _very_ rude of you." He said as he adjusted his hat, coquettishly tilting his head to see himself from all angles. After yet another cursory glance at himself in the rearview mirror, he finally got into the front seat of the car and Soujiro pressed on the gas, pulling onto the street.

As he drove, he continued tapping his fingers, not even noticing he was doing it. It wasn't until Kamatari put a gloved hand over his to stop the jerky rhythm that he realized. "Is something bothering you, Soujiro-kun?" he asked quietly.

Soujiro smiled, not taking his eyes off the road. "Oh no. Not at all." He said lightly. "You didn't forget anything?" he inquired.

"Nope!" Kamatari said. "Not a thing. I brought my new dresses, that new perfume I got shipped in from Paris, some alcohol to liven things up…"

With a laugh, Soujiro made a smooth turn. "And?"

"And what?"

"What else did you bring?"

"You mean makeup? I brought that, don't worry."

"I mean _weapons_ , Kamatari-chan."

Kamatari laughed. "I'm just teasing. Yes, I brought weapons." He shook his head with a pout. "Sheesh. Men. All they ever think about is weapons this, weapons that. I bet you didn't even notice the-"

"New hat, shoes and shade of eyeshadow you have on today?" finished Soujiro with a slight smirk. "I'm pretty sure that's a new perfume too, but since I haven't been around for a while, I might be mistaken." He smiled, taking his eyes off the road for a second and looking at Kamatari. "Those things rather suit you."

"Oh you." Said Kamatari with a laugh, waving a delicately gloved hand. In the same tone, he continued, looking at the rearview mirror. "We're being followed, you know. Undercover police, it seems. I've seen that cutie driving before in uniform." He shook his head a little, adjusting his hat while at the same time looking back at the car following them. "Oh really. Don't they ever get tired of this?"

Soujiro put a hand on the already rising Kamatari's shoulder. "Don't." he said. "Let's not draw attention to ourselves by starting a shootout in the middle of the city." Kamatari pouted again but sat down and did not reach for the machine gun hidden in his viola case on the backseat. Soujiro smiled deviously and jerked the wheel, sending the car screeching and careening into a side alley.

"Jeez, Soujiro-kun! Don't do that so suddenly! My hat almost fell off!"

"Sorry, sorry, Kamatari-chan. Won't do it agai- Oh, wait, never mind." he answered with a laugh and almost immediately repeated the maneuver, ending up on another busy street. Cars honked and blared as he wove in and out of traffic, finally settling into one lane. "Are they still following us, Kamatari-chan?" he asked.

"Hmph." Kamatari huffed. "I won't look."

Soujiro smiled with annoyance but leaned out of the window to get a look. "Not anymore, it seems." He said. "That's good."

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

At lunchtime, Soujiro and Kamatari left their quarters for the dining car to meet the rest of the team. The first one they noticed was Sawagejou Chou, the 'broom-head' as Kamatari so aptly described him. "Over here, yo!" he called.

As the two sat down, Yukyuzan Anji gave a slight bow. "Good afternoon." He said.

"Where's the other guy?" asked Chou. "I thought ya said he'd be showin' up too."

Kamatari shrugged. "I don't know." He said. "I thought he'd be with you."

Soujiro smiled. "How very rude of him." He said. "I suppose he'll send one of his subordinates." He laughed.

Chou clicked his tongue. "Asshole. Pissin' me off, yo."

Anji shrugged wordlessly.

The four men sank into silence, sitting around the table, until a waiter came by. "Would you like to order anything, gentlemen?" his eyes flicked to Kamatari. "And lady?" Kamatari tittered behind his hand as Anji ordered a glass of water, Chou tried to order a glass of whiskey and another glass of beer but was shushed by Soujiro as the waiter looked horrified. "Sir! That's illegal!"

Kamatari ordered a coffee for himself and a glass of milk for (a very offended) Chou – and Soujiro ordered tea. "With lots of milk and sugar, please." He said with a winning smile. Chou clicked his tongue and muttered something about ' _girly drinks_ '.

As they waited for their drinks, Anji spoke. "So what do we do now that this fifth man is not showing up?"

Chou shrugged. "Well, I'll be fucked if I know." He muttered.

"Language please." Said Soujiro.

"Aw shut up, pansy." He muttered.

"Soujiro-kun can kick your Southern ass and you know it, Chou-kun!" Kamatari butted in.

"My question still stands." Anji said firmly but quietly.

Soujiro shrugged with a smile. "I would quote Chou-san, but in the presence of a lady…" Kamatari began to giggle.

"Your drinks, sirs and madam." The waiter reappeared, setting the cups down. He folded his tray under his arm. "Anything else I can get you?"

"No, thank you." Soujiro smiled again.

"Please enjoy your drinks."

Chou clicked his tongue again, several times, but chugged his milk anyway, clutching at his head afterwards. "Oww…! Shit, it's cold, it's so goddamn cold…" he groaned.

"Ha! Dumbass." Said Kamatari, sipping at his coffee.

Anji wordlessly drank his water, watching a quiet Soujiro from under his eyebrows. As a smile spread over Soujiro's lips, Anji drew Kamatari and Chou's attention away from bickering and onto Soujiro by speaking. "What is it?"

Soujiro raised an eyebrow. "Our elusive fifth man has left us a message." He said, sipping at his tea and gesturing at the saucer underneath the teacup. A single round sheet of paper lay underneath where the teacup was set, invisible until the cup was lifted. With gentle fingers, he lifted it out and began to read aloud. " _Dear Mr. Seta_." He read. " _Please excuse my rudeness, but for reasons that will become apparent later, neither I, nor my subordinates have come to meet you in person. In the matter concerning Mr. Heishin – Mr. Houji has informed me that he will radio you tonight. Once more, please excuse my rudeness._ " Soujiro finished reading and laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, what a man, really."

Kamatari slowly tapped his fingers and Chou stopped clutching at his head. Anji's facial expression did not change but for an eyebrow lifting for half a centimeter. Then Chou shrugged. "I still think he's an asshole." He said.


	14. Chapter 14

**Saitou**

Saitou had gone through several packs of cigarettes in just three hours. This was because he was annoyed. He was annoyed that people were such dumbasses and didn't see what was right in front of them. _Does Shishio really think he's the only one with his people on this train? Is Heishin an idiot? He's an idiot. How could he have possibly gotten so rich? Shinomori is a cunning bastard alright, thinks that there's no such thing as being too careful, I see._

He leaned against the wall beside the door in the dining car, watching a short red-haired man meet Shinomori Aoshi, a girl calming the ice-man down as he reached into his jacket for a handgun. _Ah, well. I guess Shinomori's still a soft man underneath all those guns and all that tea. He really wants to see for himself how much the Battousai's fangs have dulled. And that poor Weasel kid, trying to take care of him._

Lighting another cigarette, Saitou looked further and almost laughed. _Oh, he's gotten busy. Two kids already. Wait…_ He paused. _That girl looks barely older than his oldest kid. Don't tell me… Ah, whatever. How does that matter, anyway. When are these idiots going to stop talking?_

He glanced at Heishin with his men and snorted. _How inconspicuous, idiot,_ he thought sarcastically. _His demeanor is ridiculous. 'Who's a mobster? Oh no, not me'._ Saitou snorted and continued to glare around the room. _Oh look. I found a broom. How does his hair stay up like that?_ He thought curiously. _Oh wait, I know. The power of idiocy._ He glowered sourly at the people sitting at a nearby table. _They both look so girly, it's insane. Do they work for Shishio as henchmen or do they just curl his wife's hair?_ The young man with blue eyes noticed his glare, met Saitou's eyes and smiled. Saitou slowly breathed out smoke, his eyebrows furrowing in a frown, until the boy looked away.

 _That's right, idiot. Look away._ He stubbed his cigarette into an ashtray on the table near him and lit another. _Oh look. The ice-cube is getting up. Well,_ alright _. Either that's some form of Morse code, or he should just not get all touchy-feely when people are trying to eat._ Saitou's glare soured, but was surprised when he saw it returned for a second by a pair of icy blue eyes. Aoshi walked by him and Saitou could see he had his gun ready inside his jacket. _I guess he's going to stake things out._

He peered down the hallway after Aoshi. _What the hell is that?_ Satou looked at Heishin with his 'four gods', then back after Aoshi. _Is that so… There's a 'fifth god'. Huh. Well, the more you know, I guess._

Saitou shrugged and continued to assess (read: glare at) the people in the dining car. _And there's a rich-looking woman. Wait._ He paused again, looking at her more carefully. _Is she…?_ He blinked. _Well, alright then. I guess I can use that. And who's that idiotic looking guy whose hair stays up by the power of idiocy too? It just has to be_ him _._

Looking closer, Saitou smirked. _And so it is. Well, well, well, what have we here. It's the idiotic Sagara. I might enjoy this a bit more than I thought. Not just pissing Shinomori off, but riling Sagara up too. This'll be interesting._

He lit another cigarette, the ashtray overflowing. _And the Weasel kid is getting up._ He smirked as she looked in his direction. As she walked by, he raised an eyebrow and blew out a puff of smoke. "Careful, Weasel kid." He said quietly, his lips barely moving. "A much bigger predator has his eye on Heishin." His narrow amber eyes seemed to glow. "Tell Shinomori that."

 _Oh look at you. So surprised. You're not the only one who knows things, kid. Get used to it._ He crossed his arms impatiently. _Hurry up, Battousai. I need to talk to you, idiot. Oh finally. He looked at me._ Saitou raised an eyebrow, meeting Kenshin's eyes. He tapped his watch and made a flicking motion with his hand towards Kaoru and the kids. _Get the kids outta here so we can talk, Battousai. Time is running short._ Saitou saw Kenshin nod in response. _I guess, another way he could've interpreted that is, 'its's time for your kids to go to bed'. But I don't think the Battousai would take any child-rearing advice from me._

Kenshin stood up and whispered something Kaoru, laying a hand on her shoulder. The young woman nodded, her arms tightening protectively around her child and her eyes flicking to Saitou for a moment. Saitou was surprised to notice that her eyes held cold defiance instead of fear as he had expected. _Hm. This kid has good eyes._ They stood up and left – and Saitou took that as a cue to join Kenshin at the table.

"It's been a while, Battousai." He said quietly, sitting down across from the redhead.

"Indeed it has." Said Kenshin mildly. "Quite a while."

Saitou settled back in his chair. "I didn't come here for small talk." Kenshin nodded with a vague smile and Saitou could sense that he was hiding anger. "Don't worry. I'm not going to try and pick a fight with you like Shinomori did at first. I'm here to warn you."

Kenshin raised an eyebrow with a smile. "This one no longer has anything to do with anything that you nor anyone else from before is a part of, indeed I do not. The Battousai died ten years ago. Whatever warnings you have for me… I thank you for the thought, but this one has no intention of getting involved, indeed I do not. There is no more Battousai. There is only Himura Kenshin."

"Unfortunately not everyone has that outlook… _Himura Kenshin._ Me included." He stood up. "I just wanted to warn you. Soon a lot of things are going to start happening and you'll be dragged into this whether you want it or not." Saitou raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "Surely your ten years of peace have not made you a complete idiot. Do you not see Heishin, Shinomori himself and Shishio Makoto's men right _here_ on this bloody train?" he snorted. "Or at least, it's not bloody yet."

Kenshin also stood up. "Do not drag this one into this, please." He said with steel in his voice. "I have no interest in taking up my gun and my old name and leaving my family behind or subjecting them to any danger, indeed I do _not._ "

"I have no interest in including you in this, Battousai. It'd just make things more complicated for me." Saitou said calmly. "I also have a home and a wife that I have to return to. I just wanted to warn you, out of the _kindness_ of my heart." He said sarcastically and stubbed out his cigarette, turning around. "I owe you one from ten years ago. I'll be seeing you around, Battousai." He said. "Take care."


	15. Chapter 15

**Kenshin**

Kenshin returned back to Kaoru a little later. He had sat there at the table, he had watched Saitou leave and he had thought, long and hard. Something someone had once said to him was, ' _Once a killer – always a killer, I will deny everything that you are_ '. And he had proven that man wrong. Or so he thought. There were many things that he had thought that had not at all turned out the way he thought they were. So he sat and thought, and wanted a drink and then cursed the Prohibition because he remembered he couldn't just order one.

And then he thought, _Kaoru. If I talk with Kaoru, then everything will be alright._ So he stood up and unsteadily walked back to Kaoru.

The instant that she opened the door and saw his eyes, she knew something was wrong. The way her eyes widened a fraction, the way she had looped an arm around his waist and led him inside. Kenji was asleep, burbling happily to himself. Yahiko was laying in the corner, but when Kenshin walked in, he jumped up. "Yo, Kenshin." He said worriedly. "Everything okay? What did that asshole chain-smoker say to you?"

Kenshin had laughed a little at that. "It was someone from ten years ago, indeed it was. His name is Saitou Hajime and he came to warn this one."

Kaoru's eyes had widened further at that. "Warn you?" she parroted. "Of what?"

 _Should I say this in front of Yahiko? He'll get worried, he'll want to get involved,_ Kenshin worried. Yahiko stared at him, looking right through him. "I'm not gonna do anything stupid." He said reproachfully. "I might be kind of a kid, but…"

Smiling, Kenshin was reassured. "Yes." He said quietly. "This one apologizes." He settled back in his seat and reached for his cigarettes, but caught himself. _I shouldn't smoke when Kenji's in the room._ "Back when this one was the Battousai, there was a group. They were… A powerful group, almost like several military units rather than an organized crime syndicate – working for the government, indeed they were. They were called the Shinsengumi."

Kaoru nodded and Yahiko edged closer. Kenshin continued. "Now that the gang war of ten years ago is over, the captains of each Shinsengumi unit have gained places in the government, the military and the police. Some other members of the Shinsengumi were rewarded with money and sent away to other countries under a vow of secrecy." Kenshin took a deep breath. "But the government did not want anyone to know of their involvement in the gang war that had killed so many – even civilians. So they massacred most of the non-ranked members. The Shinsengumi was a large group, but those who know of it are so few, it is inconsequential. Because those who knew of it and those who took part have been killed, indeed they have."

"Shit!" Yahiko exclaimed.

"Watch your language!" Kaoru glared at him, gesturing to the still peacefully sleeping Kenji. "Not in front of Kenji." She hissed. Turning to Kenshin, she smiled encouragingly. "Sorry. Please, keep talking."

Kenshin nodded. "Saitou Hajime was the third unit Shinsengumi captain. He and this one were mortal enemies, indeed we were. But when we realized that the true enemy was not each other but the government, we became more like rivals – him competing for the strongest and I for my… Ideals." Kenshin forced himself to breathe evenly. "In the worst situations, when the two of us were backed into corners, we had each others' backs. It was a relationship befitting those times, indeed it was."

Yahiko shifted impatiently. "But what did he warn you about? What's going on?" he asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

Kaoru nodded, looking concernedly at Kenshin. "What is happening that a man you've not seen for ten years is warning you?"

"Something to do with Wu Heishin, indeed it is." Kenshin answered. Almost as if he was thinking aloud he continued to speak. "He's the reason. The reason why Shinomori Aoshi is on this train, the reason why Saitou is here, the reason why apparently Shishio Makoto has his claws in this whole situation." He said quietly, his eyes narrowing. "And according to Saitou, this one will be dragged into all this whether I want it or not."

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Kenshin went out for a smoke in the hallway, leaning against the slightly swaying wall, the movement of the train barely noticeable. Kaoru had reacted the way he'd knew she'd react – with firm determination to have things stay the way they are and avoid any icy mob bosses or ex-Shinsengumi members. Yahiko had been thoughtful, biting his lip and furrowing his brow. "So who's gonna drag you into it?" he had asked. "Heishin? Shinomori? Saitou? Shishio? All of 'em?" Kenshin had only shrugged and smiled, shaking his head. _I have no idea._

He breathed out a ring of smoke, folding his arms and sighing. _I guess even after ten years the Battousai is still catching up to me_ , he thought wryly. _I thought I had left. I had settled down, left all of it behind. And yet the Battousai is still there, behind me and ahead of me. I can never escape him for good, it seems._ Kenshin sighed again letting a steady stream of smoke escape his slightly parted lips. _Let's hope Saitou is wrong. Although…_ he thought back. _I don't recall any instance of him being wrong. And he always rubbed that in people's faces._

Kenshin smiled slightly. _Actually, no. He was wrong once. He had said that he would never get married. But he has a wife now, he says. If I ever get a chance, I'll rub it in his face,_ Kenshin thought. _I just hope that he's going to be wrong again._

Hearing soft footsteps down the carpeted hallway, Kenshin looked up. It was a boy, black hair in a bowl cut, a slight smile on his face. He leaned against the opposite wall and nodded to Kenshin. "Do you mind if I join you?" he asked with a wide smile.

Kenshin shook his head, trying to smile back. "Oh no, not at all!" he said.

The boy lit his own cigarette. Kenshin could feel his eyes on him. _They are unnerving, those sky-colored eyes_ , Kenshin thought. _They're completely empty. Even though he's smiling I can see no expression on his face. Oh!_ He realized. _It's the opposite of Aoshi. Aoshi's face is always blank or frowning, but his eyes are very expressive._ Kenshin tried to distract himself with idle thoughts, but his mind was always drawn back to Saitou's words. '… _You'll be dragged into this whether you want it or not…_ ' Without realizing it, he frowned.

"It may be none of my business, sir…" said the boy with the strange blue eyes, disrupting Kenshin's anxious thoughts. "…But you seem rather troubled."

Slightly startled, Kenshin looked up at him. "O-oro?"

The boy's smile widened and Kenshin felt a slight chill run down his spine. "You're rather strong, sir." Continued the boy. " _Very_ strong." he laughed a little. "And in this world, if you are strong, you have nothing to worry about. Because strength is the one thing besides time that conquers all." The boy breathed out a puff of smoke. "So fight and kill – all with your strength. Then all of your problems will be solved."

"…Oh…?" Kenshin's eyes widened as the boy walked by him, the cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, sending a string of smoke up towards the ceiling. As the boy disappeared into the darkness of the hallway, he could've sworn the boy had said something that made Kenshin instinctively reach into his jacket for a gun that was not there.

" _I'll be seeing you later, Battousai-san_."


	16. Chapter 16

**Sanosuke**

Sanosuke had noticed Megumi's quietness last night after dinner and in the morning and he had attributed it to the story he had told over dinner. He couldn't understand what could have driven her to ask that question and the way she had been affected by his story… He couldn't get the image of her perfectly blank, beautiful face with a single tear dropping from her eye. _This lady is so weird,_ he had thought. _But I guess, so am I_ , he corrected himself, feeling a strange twinge deep in his chest.

After he had wolfed his breakfast down, Sanosuke encountered a surprising coincidence. Namely, Himura Kenshin. Sano was busy shoveling eggs (sunny side up) and bacon into his mouth, he saw his old friend walk into the dining car. Megumi gave him a look when he had tilted his entire plate of food into his mouth there and then and had jumped over a table, giving a crushing hug to a slim red-haired man whose look of utter confusion was so pronounced it was comical.

Sanosuke swallowed the huge mouthful of food he still had in his mouth and took a step back, clapping Kenshin on the back. "Yo! Kenshin!"

"O-ororo?" managed Kenshin. "Sano? What are you doing here?"

"Aw, it's a pretty long story!" Sanosuke laughed. "But I'm getting a ride to New York to see Captain Sagara, who's apparently alive." He said with a grin. He gestured over his shoulder at a very confused Megumi, still sitting at the table. "That foxy lady is helping me out."

Kenshin eyed Sanosuke. "How did you manage to do that?"

"My manly charms, of course." He scoffed.

Laughing, Kenshin raised both eyebrows. "This one highly doubts that, indeed I do."

Kaoru with Yahiko and Kenji entered the dining car as well. Yahiko was the first to notice Sanosuke. "Yo! Dumbass!" he yelled.

Sanosuke looked up and his face split into an even wider grin. "Shortass!"

Yahiko punched Sanosuke in the shoulder and Sanosuke rubbed his fist into Yahiko's head, laughing. Sanosuke grinned at Kaoru. "Hey, Missy." He said. Then he caught sight of Kenji and smiled. "Hey big guy! Ain't seen you for a few weeks and you're already this tall!" he shook his head in playful disbelief.

"Yep!" Kenji nodded, a satisfied look on his face. "I'm gonna grow bigger than you." He said. "Then I'll be the biggest in the whole wide world."

Sanosuke laughed, taking into account the petite height of both of Kenji's parents. "Sure, kid." He said. "Go for it! I'd sure like to see that." He looked at Kenshin and Kaoru. "So what're you guys doing on this here train?"

Yahiko gave Sanosuke a friendly kick. "Goin' to New York like everybody else here, dumbass."

"Dumbass!" Kenji parroted, and Kaoru shot a glare at Yahiko.

Kenshin smiled. "We are going on a little family trip, indeed we are. We'll drop in for a visit at Shishou's…" Kenshin sighed.

Kaoru finished for him. "If he's even in the country." She rolled her eyes. "Last we heard, he was in Hong Kong." She paused. "Or was it Rome? I'm pretty sure it wasn't Russia. The guy travels so much…"

At that moment, Sanosuke almost slapped himself in the face. "Aw jeez." He said. "Fox-lady!" he yelled. "Come over here – I'll introduce you!"


	17. Chapter 17

**Aoshi**

Aoshi woke up much too early. He stretched and went out to wash and change. When he came back, Misao was still asleep, snoring gently, one leg kicked up and out of the blankets, her nightgown riding up. Aoshi shook his head fondly and put the blanket back over her. He looked at his watch. Four o'clock in the morning.

He settled down and began to read. Misao shifted in her bed, kicking the wall and flinging her arm out. _She was always an active sleeper, even when she was a child. I remember waking up one night thinking that there was an intruder, but it was only her falling off the bed. And still, she didn't wake up._ He looked back to his book and started to read again, but Misao had shifted again, this time with a slight whimper.

 _Is she having a nightmare? Should I wake her?_ She rolled over again, moaning. Aoshi could make out words. "Don't kill… Stop it…! I don't want… Kill me instead…! Please… No…" Aoshi stood up. _I'm going to wake her up. I can't see her like this._ He stood up and shook her gently.

"Misao. Misao, wake up."

Misao's eyes snapped open and she sat up with a cry. "Aoshi-sama!" she was panting, her eyes wide and horrified. "No… no…"

"Misao. It's fine. You're alright." He said soothingly, his hand on her back and his other on her shoulder. "It was a dream."

Her breathing slowed a little and she looked up at him. "…Aoshi-sama…" she tried to smile energetically. "G-good morning!"

"Are you alright?" he asked softly, ignoring her attempt to appear nonchalant.

"Uh… Yeah." She said, looking down. "I was just having a… Dream."

Aoshi stepped back a little, sitting on the edge of his seat. "…Do you want to… Talk about it?" he asked carefully.

She waved her hand. "Aw, it's fine. You know, just the usual kind of stuff! Don't worry about me, Aoshi-sama!"

He looked at her. "That didn't sound fine. I am worried." He said flatly.

Misao looked down. "It was just a dream about…" she paused. "Remember when there was some tension with the Takeda Financial Group five years ago? Those businessmen that were actually big black market figures?"

Aoshi stiffened.

"And you… We thought you were captured by them, right? And Hannya-kun and the others all got arrested? We were told… That the Takeda people killed you." She took a deep breath. "…I get it though, you had to lay low and whatever – but you were gone for two years… And the whole time we thought you were…" she took another deep breath and tried to smile. "But you came back and everything is absolutely fabulous now!" she said, the cheerfulness in her voice so strained that Aoshi would've punched himself in the face if he could.

"Misao I-" He tried not to let his voice shake. Misao swung her legs out of bed and stepped towards him, laying a light hand on his arm. She smiled reassuringly and gently. _Fuck! She's the one who's in pain here and_ I _get comforted?_

"It's fine." She said. "Please don't worry about it, okay? Don't worry about me." Then she grinned and it was a genuine grin. "And plus, don't we have a job to do today…" she grinned wider. "Boss?"

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Aoshi adjusted his tie and loaded his guns, watching Misao load hers. _So quick and efficient and yet she's barely even looking at what she's doing_ , he thought. Misao caught his glance and looked up, finishing with a click. "Anything the matter?" she asked. "I know, I know. I brought too many silencers." She shrugged. "But I thought, 'Hey, there's no such thing as being too careful,' right?"

"No. That's fine." he answered quickly. "Nothing is the matter." _Calm down. She's always like this._ His voice softened. "Well done."

She laughed. "There was that one time when I completely forgot to bring 'em so I had to use my knives for everything, 'cause I couldn't risk being to loud. And you know how they say, 'don't bring a knife to a gunfight'." Misao stretched. "Waah, my shoulder's stiff…!" she groaned, bending over backward, almost touching her heels. "Must've slept on it funny." she groaned.

 _It's like she flipped a switch._ Aoshi thought.

He watched her adjust the knives strapped to her arms, but quickly turned his back when she strapped on a knife belt under her shirt, unabashedly pulling it up to expose her slim midriff. _Don't just expose yourself like that in front of a manwhatthehellareyoudoingwhatiswrongwithyou. Verysmoothlineslightlydefinedmusclesquitenice- Shut UP!_ Aoshi gave himself a mental kick. _Stop thinking unnecessary things,_ he told himself. _This is Misao._

Unaware of his internal monologue, she frowned. "It's not like I'm gonna use these, but… Who knows." She grinned. "I don't feel very 'at home' without them, y'know?"

"Ah really." He said stiffly, clearing his throat. "Is that so."

She pulled her shirt down and grinned. "Alright!"

Aoshi shook his head. _This tiny, energetic woman… Nobody would suspect that she can kill a man before breakfast. Literally._

As if reading his thoughts, she cracked her knuckles, earning a slight wince from Aoshi. "Let's go and do this – and then have breakfast. I'm starving."

"Yes. On one condition."

"Huh? What is it?"

He winced a little. "Don't do that knuckle thing again."

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Heishin's first-class suite was luxurious, dimly lit. Heishin himself sat in a seat facing Aoshi, his bodyguards positioned around him. He puffed out smoke and Aoshi could see that the cigar he held in his fingers was an expensive Cuban one. Wu Heishin smiled. "Please sit down, Mr. Shinomori." He said, gesturing. _Either he's faking it, or he_ really _has that much of an accent._

Aoshi sat down and Misao remained standing next to him, her hands folded in front of her, her face completely blank. "Good morning, Mr. Heishin." Aoshi said. "Your trip has been pleasant so far, I trust?"

With a laugh, Heishin waved his hand. " _Not bad._ " He said in Chinese.

" _That is good to hear_." Aoshi replied, also in Chinese. Misao shifted slightly, unable to understand what he was saying – feeling uncomfortable because of it and Aoshi blinked slowly. _It's fine_.

Heishin laughed again. "Mr. Shinomori." He said. " _Do you always bring your woman to business transactions?_ "

" _Not always. But when I do, she is better than the best man._ " Aoshi raised an eyebrow. " _This woman has been a professional killer since she was sixteen years old._ " He felt a twinge as he said it. " _To her, the 'Family Business' is everything – and she is as skilled and committed as any man – even more so._ " He shrugged. " _However, if you so wish, Mr. Heishin, I can ask her to leave._ "

" _Oh, no. Let her stay. She seems almost too cute to have anything to do with our business, no? How very interesting!_ " exclaimed Heishin. " _I will invite you to my house at some later point and you must tell me all about it!_ "

Aoshi almost smirked. " _How kind of you, Mr. Heishin. I would enjoy that very much._ "

Wu Heishin smiled back and took a piece of paper from one of the 'four gods' while another brought in a table and pens. "Let us get down to the business, Mr. Shinomori." He said, now in English. "The weapons deal, yes?"

Aoshi nodded. "Indeed." He said.

Heishin dipped his pen into the ink and wrote his signature on it. He looked up. "To be the honest…" he said. "I have already sent the order ahead to Chicago. I am thinking, this is a formality, no?"

Dipping his pen into the inkwell, Aoshi slowly began to write. "Mr. Heishin… I thank you for your time." He straightened up stepping back and to the side, giving Misao a clear shot at Heishin. As the bullet whooshed by him, he pivoted, both guns in his hands shooting – one, two, three, four shots.

The 'four gods' seemed less than godly. Their hands frozen right before they could reach for their guns, their faces unmoving, stuck in expressions of surprise – and suddenly… There were four loud thumps of heaviness hitting the ground and a softer thump of Heishin sliding off his seat and onto the floor, blood soaking into the carpet from a hole straight through his head.

Aoshi looked into Heishin's vacant eyes. "We will not be doing business again." He said.

He cast a glance at Misao. She stood, in the middle of the room with blank eyes, smoke coming from the barrel of her gun. A thought suddenly hit Aoshi. _It wasn't that I was afraid of her being unable to perform this job. I was afraid of her being able to do it. I made her point her gun at a man and kill him. I was afraid of having her do this on my command._ "Misao…" he began.

Misao blinked and suddenly her expression loosened and she turned back to him with a carefree smile. "Let's get out of here, Aoshi-sama." She said. "Sticking around here doesn't seem like a good idea right now."

His eyes widened. "…Yes."


	18. Chapter 18

**Megumi**

 _How can I ask for anything? How can I pretend that I am innocent? If he knew who I truly was, he would not be treating me so… Gently_. _So kindly._ Megumi thought this as she watched Sanosuke shoveling fried eggs into his mouth, occasionally exclaiming 'holy shit this is so good'. He swallowed everything that was in his mouth and Megumi thought amusedly that he must have supernatural powers to be able to fit that much food in his stomach and mouth.

Sanosuke looked at her with a little concern in his warm brown eyes. "You good, Fox-lady?" he asked. "You haven't touched your food at all."

Megumi blinked, and quickly shook her head. "Oh! I'm very well." She smiled thinly. "I was lost in thought." She ate a little. He stood up and Megumi blinked at him as he put a gentle hand on her forehead. "W-what do you think you're doing?!" she exclaimed, hoping that her cheeks were not flaming up.

He stepped backwards. "You don't seem to have a temperature." He said, sitting back down. "That's good."

She glared at him, trying to cover her flustered state. _This_ boy _is flustering_ me _?!_ "I'm a _doctor_ , Rooster-head. If I had a temperature I'd be able to tell." She began to eat quickly, not looking at him.

"Well at least you're eating now." he said softly and Megumi looked up at his beaming grin. _This Rooster-head…_

Sanosuke resumed his eating – then he spotted something behind her and his eyes widened. Megumi watched with disgusted fascination as Sanosuke tilted his entire plate of eggs into his mouth. "Go'a go!" he said through the eggs and jumped out of his chair.

Megumi watched curiously as her companion almost _flew_ across the dining car to crush a slim red-haired man in a bear hug. By the looks of things they were old friends – the easy informality with which Sanosuke seemed to treat everyone was mirrored (however differently) by the smaller man. _That little red-head is rather cute_ , thought Megumi. _Wonder if the Rooster-head can introduce me._ She blinked. _Whoops. Never mind. He's married and has two kids. Isn't that girl with the ponytail a bit too young for him?_

She watched their interactions, until Sanosuke turned to her and waved. "Fox-lady! Come over here, I'll introduce you!" Reluctantly, she stood up and walked over. Sanosuke grinned and indicated her with his hand. "This here is Miss Takani Megumi, the foxy lady whom I've got the honor of travelling with."

Megumi covered her mouth as she laughed, then glared at Sanosuke. "That's not how you introduce people, dummy." She hissed.

The slim red-headed 'cutie' smiled. "This one's name is Himura Kenshin." Megumi shook his hand. "It is very nice to meet you, indeed it is."

"I'm Kaoru and this is Kenji." Smiled the younger woman with the ponytail. "Kenji, say 'nice to meet you'."

The small child that looked almost exactly like Kenshin looked at Megumi. He grinned. "I'm Kenji!" he said. "Nice to mee'cha!"

The spiky-haired kid that looked nothing like Kenshin or Kaoru stuck his hand out. "Hey. I'm Yahiko." He said. As she shook his hand, he leaned closer to her. "How the hell did he get you to travel with him?" he whispered loudly. "Did he _pay_ you? Wait no, he's broke as hell."

" _Hey_!"

Megumi laughed once more. "Oh, I'm not travelling with _him_ , he's travelling with _me_." She smirked.

The Himura family were a pleasant and amusing group of people – and Megumi felt as if she could forget her troubles with them for a few moments. Their lighthearted happiness was contagious. Megumi noticed after a while that Kenshin had stepped aside for a moment with Sanosuke – and she saw that the two had taken up serious countenances as the red-head continued speaking quietly.

After a while, the family went on to eat – and Sanosuke and Megumi were left standing at the entrance to the dining car. Sanosuke had been silently thinking, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth in a frown. Megumi looked at him, but didn't venture an inquiry. She waited nearby, until another passenger disrupted the Rooster-head's train of thought by bumping shoulders with him, in what Megumi knew to be a fairly antagonistic way. _Picking a fight with him?_ She almost snorted. _This guy is going to… What is the expression? 'Get his ass handed to him'. Also… What's with that hair?_

Sanosuke looked up and met the eyes of the man who had bumped into him. "You're not gonna apologize?" he asked mildly. "You bumped into me, y'know."

The man curled his lip and raised an eyebrow, his right eye closed in a derisive squint. "Well ya shouldn't'a stood in my way, yo." His hair was long and blond, but somehow, defying the laws of gravity – stood straight up in the air.

"'Got a problem?"

" _You_ got a problem, Chicken-hair?"

"Only if you do, Broom-head. I've got a problem if you don't apologize."

"Well I ain't gonna apologize, Chicken."

Megumi almost rolled her eyes at Sanosuke's smirk. "Let's take this outside, Broom-head." He said. "You crying and bleeding and apologizing to me is not gonna be a fit sight for this here Fox-lady." His smirk widened. "I'm gonna… 'Sweep' the floor with you."

The man kicked the door open. "So let's go an' stop the chattin'. Or are you _chicken_?"

 _They are making the most terrible puns,_ thought Megumi. _This would be ridiculous but for their 'manly' determination to beat the crap out of each other._ She watched as the two squared off in the hallway. The first punch was thrown by the 'Broom-head'. Sanosuke quickly dodged and threw one of his own, hitting the other man in the stomach.

'Broom-head' stumbled back with an 'oof', winded. But he quickly recovered and sent a fist into Sanosuke's mouth when he wasn't expecting it. Sanosuke grinned, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. He feinted to the right but hit 'Broom-head' in the jaw with his left, sending the man careening backwards into the wall.

Just as the blond man recovered and Sanosuke readied himself to throw another brutal punch – a man walked in. He was tall, somewhere in his early middle age – and had an expression of one not willing to deal with anything annoying – and he seemed to find _everything_ annoying. A cigarette dangled from the corner of his mouth – and thin strands of hair fell in front of his narrow amber eyes. "Tch." He shook his head. "What a pain. How about you two idiots don't fight right in front of the door."

The 'Broom-head' glared at him and Sanosuke strolled up to him, impudently yawing and folding his arms behind his head. "Hey, old guy, how about you don't butt in, okay? What are you doing here anyway, huh, Saitou?" he drawled.

Megumi watched the next few seconds that unfolded with shock. The older man had raised an eyebrow and smirked. If Megumi had blinked, she would've missed it. She would've missed seeing the lightning-quick punch that the man had landed, square into Sanosuke's middle, sending him _flying_ backwards. When he hit the wall he slid down until he half lay in the floor, not moving.

She gasped, and the narrow-eyed man looked at her with a smirk. "Don't worry. He's unconscious but alive." He said, letting out a stream of smoke from his lips. "I pull my punches when dealing with kids." The blond man with his hair like a broom took this opportunity to scamper away.

The man walked by Megumi. Just as he was about to open the door to the dining car he turned to her. "This is rather strange, though. You being here. What are you planning, Miss Takani?" he asked quietly. "Or should I say… Mrs. _Takeda_."

Megumi's eyes widened and she stumbled back, pulling a pistol from her handbag and pointing it at him with shaky hands. "D-do you work for him?" she asked, her voice shaking.

He caught the barrel and forced it to point up at the ceiling, strong against her weak hands. "No. I do not work for Takeda Kanryuu." he shook his head. "Put that thing away, kid. You're not going to shoot me." He said. "As far as I know, we're not enemies."

Her hold on the gun did not loosen, but her knees shook. She was desperate. "W-who are you, then?"

"I'm Saitou. Right now I'm a cop." He said, sighing. "You're way too high-strung, kid. I'll tell you something. Be careful. There's a lot more going on here than your little marriage drama. Watch out for names like ' _Shinomori_ ', ' _Heishin_ ' and ' _Shishio_ '." Saitou let go of the pistol's barrel and Megumi slowly lowered it, breathing hard. He looked at her, about to say something else, but seemed to think better of it.

Megumi watched numbly as Saitou nodded to her and walked out, going into the dining car with the same cool countenance he had the entire time. When the door swung closed, she put her revolver back into her purse with shaking hands. _How did he know? How much did he know? Who_ is _he? This Saitou is a dangerous bastard…_ She sank down to her knees, shaking and trying to stop doing so, looking to the unconscious Sanosuke for comfort she knew she was not going to get.


	19. Chapter 19

**Misao**

Aoshi seemed unusually quiet at breakfast (even for him!). Misao watched him carefully. _Is there something he's not telling me about the Heishin situation? Did something else happen? Did I accidentally guilt-trip him with my nightmare?_

"Misao."

Misao almost dropped her fork. "Y-yeah! What's the matter?"

"What do you want to do in New York?" he asked. "We are only planning on staying for several days, however that is ample time to appreciate the city."

"Wow! Thanks!" Waving her hand, Misao grinned. "Hell, it doesn't matter, Aoshi-sama! I'll go wherever!"

"I remember, a year ago, you said you really wanted to see the ocean. Chicago is almost as far away from the coast as you can get, but New York harbor is huge – and Long Beach is a rather nice place, from what I have heard." Aoshi said.

Misao laughed. "You remembered what I said a _year_ ago? Wow! You have a real good memory, Aoshi-sama. Thanks a lot! Yeah, I'll take some time off and visit the harbor." she smiled to herself as she happily shoveled bacon and scrambled eggs from her plate to her mouth. Then she stopped. "Uh actually, there's something I was meaning to ask you, Aoshi-sama."

"What is it?"

"How do you know Chinese?!" she exclaimed, pointing at him with her fork. "You never told me you can speak Chinese!"

"I taught myself." Aoshi said with quiet amusement. "We have dealings not only with organizations inside the US but outside as well. I learned as many languages as I could." he raise an eyebrow. "I know English, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Cantonese. Passable Spanish."

Misao's jaw dropped. "…How…" she blinked. "That's absolutely _amazing_!" she yelled, almost standing up.

Aoshi shook his head a little. "Quiet down a little." he said gently.

She nodded, then continued in a strained stage whisper. "What were you and Heishin saying before? In Chinese?"

Aoshi looked a bit discomfited by the question. "I asked him how his trip was, and he said that it wasn't bad. Small talk, really."

"And then?" Misao asked excitedly, leaning over the table. "You seemed really like… You were enjoying yourself." she grinned, swinging her legs. "You were almost _smirking_."

Taking a sip of green tea, Aoshi waited a little before answering, seeming to formulate a reply – to think before he spoke. "…He asked me if I always brought my- _A_ woman to business transactions." he took another sip of tea, avoiding Misao's widening eyes. "I said that I did not always bring you, but when I did – you were better than the best man." he paused. "…I said nothing much after that. There was even more small talk." he cleared his throat.

"Wow…" _Aoshi-sama said such things about me! And Heishin thought that I was Aoshi-sama's woman? Do we really look that close?_ Misao thought elatedly, shoveling mashed potatoes into her mouth, supplementing with an occasional bite of sausage.

Looking up, Aoshi tapped her arm. "It seems that the 'bangs like antenna and eyes like a psychopath' chain-smoker wants to talk to us." he said quietly, barely moving his mouth. Misao quickly chewed and swallowed, glancing up as well. It was obvious that he was making his way over to their table. Once more, Misao met his eyes and he smirked.

"My name is Saitou. Saitou Hajime." he said upon reaching them. "I would like to speak with you, Mr. Shinomori." _Saitou Hajime!_ Thought Misao. _No wonder I thought he was so familiar! He's that cop that showed up out of nowhere seven years ago and started enforcing the_ hell _out of the Eighteenth Amendment. There've been whispers that he used to be part of the Shinsengumi. I have no_ idea _how many speakeasies got shut down because of him! Thank goodness not ours though. Jiya's got the cops tightly in his pocket. …But… Why is he here? What is he doing? He_ warned _me yesterday – even though it's obvious that I'm with Aoshi-sama – whom he_ knows _to be the Boss of the Oniwabanshu! What is going on?_ She fixed Saitou with an unwavering stare.

Aoshi raised an eyebrow. Indicating a seat, he spoke formally and tonelessly. "Please sit down, Mr. Saitou." As Saitou sat down, he took another sip of tea, and fixed him with a glance of his icy blue eyes. "How may I help you?" he asked. "I am surprised that a Lieutenant of our country's _glorious_ police force and an ex-Captain of the Shinsengumi would have anything to speak to me about." he said dryly.

 _Aoshi-sama knew? Or maybe he recognized him just now like I did…_ Saitou slowly smiled and Misao almost shivered. _This guy seems like a scary person….I can even see that he has a gun in his jacket._ "…I have a question about Mr. Takeda Kanryuu of the Takeda Financial Group." Saitou said. "I was… _Informed_ at some point that you may know him rather well, Mr. Shinomori."

 _W-what?!_

With a deliberate slowness, Aoshi picked up his teacup and took a long sip. "I do not know Mr. Takeda Kanryuu very well at all. We have had some… _Dealings_ in the past – but currently we have no points of contact. I do not know if I can answer your question, Mr. Saitou."

Saitou glanced sideways at Misao. "If you keep staring at me like that, Weasel, do you think that I'll catch fire or something?" he drawled.

Misao blinked, sitting up straighter. "Whaddaya mean, 'catch fire'? I wasn't even staring." she said with a pout. "…And don't call me a Weasel, you old Wolf!" As Aoshi glanced at her, she quickly covered her mouth. "Ehh… That is…"

At that moment, the door to the dining car crashed open and a man with freakishly _tall_ blond hair appeared, panting as if he had been running. "Yo!" He yelled. "What the fuck! Is this for real, here?! Heishin's dead!" There were surprised mutters, a few shouts and a terrified scream.

Misao and Aoshi exchanged glances as Saitou stood up without a word and almost _ran_ out of the dining car, bumping the man with the tall hair as he strode by. _Someone found out_ this _early? What was that guy doing in Heishin's suite, anyway?_ One of the staff tried to calm everyone down. "Please continue your meals, we are sure nothing of the sort has happen-" he was roughly pushed out of the way as a crowd of people pushed by him.

Soon enough, the only people in the dining car were Misao and Aoshi, the Himura family and a group by the window, a young man with large blue eyes and smooth-looking hair, a very fashionable young woman, the blond man who was just shouting – and a huge hulking man with deep-set eyes who seemed to be praying. At the Himura family table, Kenji was taking advantage of the situation to grab a slice of bacon off of Kenshin's plate. Yahiko was arguing with Kaoru, as he wanted to go and see – and Kenshin was calming the two of them down.

Aoshi stood up. "I might as well see what the damage is – according to the rest of the passengers. I want to see who they come up with as suspects." he drank the rest of his tea. "And how Saitou fits into all this."

Misao nodded. "Sure. I'll wait here then, Aoshi-sama."

He nodded and was off. Misao continued to eat her potatoes and sausage until a smiling voice distracted her. "You aren't going to go and see, Miss?" it was the young man with the blue eyes.

Misao swallowed and gulped down her coffee to clear her throat. "No, I'm not." she said. "I'm sure it's just a prank. Seeing as you haven't gotten up even as your friend here has surprised and terrified all the rest of the passengers." she said coolly.

He laughed. "Oh, Miss… You really don't mince your words, do you. I'm Soujiro. Seta Soujiro." he gestured at the man with the vertical blond hair. "And Chou-kun isn't really a _friend_ per se. He's more of a colleague whose words I know well enough to take with a grain of salt." he smiled and then turned to Chou and the others. "Hey, Chou-kun! I'm talking smack about you behind your back to the lady!" he called. "It's what you deserve!"

She tried to hold in her laughter at the man's affronted expression. "Yo! That ain't fair, man!" then he stopped, his eyes widening and almost falling backwards off his chair. "Oh… I… I uh…" Misao quickly glanced at Soujiro but she could only see his smile widen – nothing to merit Chou's terrified reaction.

Then Soujiro turned back to her with a pleasant smile. "Ah, what am I saying… We may not get along, but Chou-kun is actually rather nice when you get to know him."

Misao shrugged. "I'm sure he is." she said noncommittally. "By the way, Mr. Seta-"

He wagged his finger at her. "Nuh-uh. Soujiro- _kun_. Sou- _chan_." he smiled wider. "…I can't have a beautiful lady like you calling me by my last name, now can I?" he smiled. "Let's get along!" Misao shook his outstretched hand, also standing up.

"I'm Misao." she said. "Makimachi Misao. Nice to meet you, Soujiro-kun." she smiled. _He's a bit weird but he's rather nice. And calling me a beautiful lady?_ She almost snorted. _He sure has a sense of humor._

"Say, Misao-chan…" Soujiro suddenly pouted. "That tall scary-looking man with blue eyes who just left… Who is he?" he winked. "I don't want to be beaten up for flirting with a married woman, although if it was you – I'd take the beating!"

Misao laughed. "Aw, you're too funny." she said. "No, he's my Boss." she laughed again. "What do you mean, scary-looking?"

Soujiro leaned in. "He's probably twice my height. If someone's taller than me, they're scary." he grinned. "That's why I don't like going outside very much." Misao laughed at that too, seeing as Soujiro was just barely taller than her – no easy feat to be that short. "We of small height should stick together, don't you think, Misao-chan?"

Laughing again, Misao glanced up and saw Aoshi entering the dining car. "Ah, and there's Aoshi-sama." she said.

He looked up and slowly smiled. "However much I want to meet Mr. Shinomori…" he said. _Wait. When did I ever tell him Aoshi-sama's family name? Does he know him?_ "I'll wait until later, because now is not the time." _What does that mean? Who is this guy_? Misao looked at Soujiro in surprise and confusion, but the latter simply smiled and nodded to her, and then went to sit down with his group. "I'll see you around, I think, Misao-chan."


	20. Chapter 20

**Saitou**

Saitou didn't even bother with an excuse as he jumped up after Chou announced Heishin's death. He could see Aoshi and Misao exchanging looks as he quickly exited the dining car – and Kenshin's heavy and questioning look on him. He ignored them all and rushed out with the crowd of gawkers. Despite the protests of the conductors, he pushed through the crowd and threw the door to Heishin's suite open.

Heishin lay slumped on the floor, a bullet hole in his forehead. The 'four gods' lay around him, blood oozing from bullet holes through their heads and chests. _The blood still looks relatively fresh,_ Saitou thought as he crouched down near one of the bodies. _This must have been recent. Less than an hour ago. Who would have done it? Shishio's people? Shinomori? But I know for a fact that Shinomori had a deal with the guy. Why would he kill him?_

The bodyguards looked as if they were reaching for their weapons when they were shot which meant that the person who had shot them was very fast. And since they had been reaching for their weapons, it meant that something had happened for them to do so. For instance, Heishin being shot.

 _But these bodyguards were the best. They would have seen it coming. If a man came in with a gun and an intention to shoot their employer, he would be assaulted with fire from four sides. So they must've been shot at around the same time as Heishin was. And that was impossible, unless there was more than one person doing the shooting._ Saitou lit a cigarette, thinking.

 _There are four of Shishio's cronies. The one in the dress, the one who looks like a girl and the big guy who prays all the time. And then there's Sawagejou Chou. As far as I know, Shinomori only has himself and the Weasel. It would be more likely that it was Shishio's people who did it, since there's more of them. I've only heard rumors about Shinomori himself, but I wouldn't think that he's crazy enough to take on four highly trained meatheads and a crime boss with only two guns and a little girl. But then again, I've heard that he and the kid are really good. Like, really,_ really _good._ He made a dissatisfied sound and waved off a staff member who was trying to pull him away.

He suddenly caught a glimpse of something that Heishin was holding in his hand. A pen. Saitou's eyebrows rose. _A pen? He was writing something?_ He absentmindedly pushed away a staff member who was trying to wrestle him out of the room. Saitou cast a cursory glance around the room, then stood up and searched carefully. _No paper. So what was he writing? Either Chou or the killer took it. Or maybe there was a third person in between them. The 'fifth god'? Possibly._

Saitou began to pace. _If Shinomori was the killer, it would've been easy for him to walk into Heishin's room. Hell, the idiot would've probably_ invited _him in, for some business or maybe even a friendly chat. He might have signed or written something business-related, then Shinomori and the kid would've just started shooting. If it was Shishio's hitmen, they would've easily forced their way in – and just shot everybody. Why the pen? Maybe he was writing something when they came in and they thought it was important._

Then it clicked – and he threw aside the member of staff who was almost crying as he begged Saitou to leave. He kicked the door closed behind him and pushed through the crowd. In the dining car, it was only the Himuras and Shishio's lackeys. Aoshi and Misao had left and the Himura family were preparing to do so. Saitou glanced at Kenshin, but the other was not aware of it. Their eyes did not meet.

However, Saitou met the eyes of a certain 'girly-looking' young bowl-cut individual. And with a slow smile, he stood up and walked over to Saitou on the other end of the dining car. "I do not believe we've had the pleasure of meeting each other before, Saitou-san." he said, his smile widening.

Vaguely reminded of Okita by the boy, Saitou blinked, disconcerted. Then he snorted. _Okita? This kid is a pale imitation._ "I believe we haven't."

"I'm Seta Soujiro." he smiled pleasantly again, but there was a look in his eyes that belied his pleasant tone. Saitou almost grinned. _He's evaluating me. And you don't seem to like what you see, do you kid._

Saitou nodded. "I'm sure you are." he said. "As you're aware of, unless you're even more of an idiot than I took you for, I'm here not just for a pleasant chat. I want to ask you a few questions."

Soujiro laughed, his sky-colored eyes sparkling with excitement. "You are just as the rumors say you are, Saitou-san! And I hope I do not disappoint you – as I may be just a little bit more of an idiot than you first took me for, I'm afraid, as I would only go so far as to hazard a guess at the questions you have for me."

"Heishin." Saitou said bluntly. "Who killed him?"

"Ah. I see. So it's that, isn't it." The smile on Soujiro's face widened, but his eyes became cold and dangerous. "…Now, Saitou-san." he said. "If it was me or my friends, do you really think I'd say, 'Yes, Saitou-san, it was me'?"

"You would. Because you'd so desperately want to make things more interesting for yourself." Saitou lit a cigarette. "I'm waiting." _I'm a good judge of character. This one'll dance around the subject for a little while and then he'll tell me._

Laughing again, Soujiro shook his head. "Oh gosh… Saitou-san, you know me so well even though it is our first meeting… Things are already rather interesting – what makes you think that me telling you anything will make it any more so? Ah well. I suppose you're right, though." he looked up and met Saitou's eyes. His voice was as pleasant as ever, although it was lowered just the slightest bit. "…Shinomori Aoshi-san and Misao-chan beat us to it. We were going to use Heishin as an excuse to kill one of our own and his people – someone who Shishio-san can no longer trust."

Saitou raised an eyebrow. "And who is that?" _I could show him a blank piece of paper and he'd say it's a list of people who Shishio Makoto trusts._

"Oh… It's a rather funny coincidence, actually." Soujiro began to giggle.

Saitou rolled his eyes. "…Just talk already." he grumbled.

"Yukishiro Enishi is his name, Saitou-san. A rather interesting character, he is. He hasn't left his room at all, but he would be very surprised to see our Himura-san aboard, wouldn't he? After all, I've heard him say many times before, ' _I'd set the whole world on fire if it meant that he'd burn too_ '."

Saitou's eyes widened. _Shit._

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Saitou tried to corner Kenshin many times that day, but somehow the red-head always seemed to leave when he entered the room. Finally, he managed to catch the eye of the young woman who was now Kenshin's wife. She sat in the smoking car with a cigarette clenched in her teeth and a book in her hands. He made his way over and introduced himself. "I am Saitou Hajime and I need to talk to Battou- I mean Himura right now. It's of the utmost importance."

For a second the young woman looked as if she wanted to punch him (a common reaction) then she looked almost _pityingly_ at him. Then she raised an eyebrow. "Is it not something I can relay to him?" she asked coolly, standing up.

 _Well, she married him, she probably knows everything and can deal with some shit,_ Saitou decided. He shrugged. "I guess you can. Tell him that Yukishiro Enishi is here on this train and that my warning from before applies." he took a gun from his jacket and handed it to her. _She seems somehow used to holding firearms_ , he noticed. "Give this to him. He may choose to use it, he probably won't because he's gone soft." here Saitou really tried not to scoff but he probably failed, seeing as the woman narrowed her eyes at him. "But I have a bad feeling about this. And I've never been wrong about those sorts of things." At the slightly shocked look on her face he paused. "Look, kid." he said a little more softly. "Shit's going to go down and I owe the Battousai one from ten years ago. Just tell him what I said, alright?"

She looked up at him, no longer showing any shock or fear. "My name is Himura Kaoru." she said. "I will relay your message to _Kenshin_." she put special emphasis on the name. She smiled tiredly, her eyebrows furrowing in worry. "Thank you, Saitou-san."

He shook Kaoru's hand and departed. _She seems like a capable kid_. Then, unbidden, a thought came to him. _Wait… if the 'Takani' woman is a Fox-lady, Shinomori's little protégée is a Weasel kid then this one is a… A Raccoon-girl._ Then he stopped and shook his head. _…I'm not even drunk, what am I thinking about._

As he exited the smoking car, he saw Kenshin who looked back up at him. "Saitou?" he asked.

"Don't look so happy to see me." Saitou grumbled. "I couldn't catch you anywhere so I gave the details to the Raccoon-girl. Yukishiro Enishi's on the train. He hasn't seen you yet but it's only a matter of time now that Heishin's dead. I gave her a gun to give to you, I have no way of knowing if you're gonna use it or not."

Kenshin's eyes widened and he gasped, his face pale. "Yukishiro… Enishi…" he repeated in a quiet, shaky voice.

"Yeah. Oh shit." Saitou sympathized. "From what I heard, he still… Doesn't like you very much. Meaning, he'd set the world on fire if it meant you burned too. You've been underground for far too long, Battousai. Rather, _avoiding_ the underground for too long."

"…It can't be…"


	21. Chapter 21

**Kenshin**

It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. His legs shook as he took several agonizingly slow steps towards Kaoru. _Kaoru. He had to protect Kaoru, Kenji, Yahiko…_ She rushed towards him, closing the door of the smoking car behind her. "That Saitou was just here!" she said. "He said-"

Kenshin met her eyes. "I saw him just now. He told me."

"Oh Kenshin…" she wrapped her arms around him. "…What do you think is going to happen?"

He took a deep breath. "It's not myself I am worried for as much as for you, Kenji and Yahiko." he shook his head. "But maybe I am getting ahead of myself." he said, trying to convince himself as well as Kaoru. "After all, Saitou _could_ possibly be mistaken. His source of information may not be… Accurate."

Kaoru bit her lip. "Isn't it a bit too risky to just say that and ignore it, though?"

"I… Don't even know anymore…" he cleared his throat, looking down at the ground, getting his bearings, his strength (or at least an illusion of it) back. He smiled sadly, taking Kaoru's hand in both of his. "This one thought that my past was all behind me – that with you, Kaoru-dono – I could make a family in these seemingly peaceful times. But it seems we have chosen the wrong train to go and visit Shishou in New York, indeed we have."

Kaoru smiled back, trying to appear strong, for his sake – and it almost broke his heart. "…Kenshin. I… Only want the best for you. But as a mother to Kenji… As Yahiko's caregiver… I will protect them with everything I have. So you… Do your best." she looked down. "This Enishi… He's… Tomoe-san's younger brother and he wants revenge. His mind will be clouded and there will only be that one thing – revenge – driving him." Kaoru looked up into his eyes. "…You're not alone. You have me, Sano's going to join you as soon as he finds out, Yahiko's going to want to help, _no way am I letting him_ , and this Saitou… He seems to be taking the debt to you very seriously."

"Kaoru…"

She pouted at him. "If you get hurt I won't forgive you." she said. "You're a father, a husband, a cherished friend and a good cook." she smiled. "So don't be all noble and whatever. Just be safe." and then she looked sternly at him. "And don't go climbing onto the roof again." she growled.

"O-oro?"

The couple almost jumped as they heard a bloodcurdling wail coming towards them, but it was only Kenji and a very pained-looking Yahiko trying to reason with the toddler. He looked up at Kaoru and Kenshin with a sigh of relief. "Aw thank _god_ I found you two, this kid is driving me insa-" he paused. "Oh sorry, am I interrupting somethi-" he cut himself off again, his voice rising in pitch with surprise. "Holy shit, is that a _gun_?!" he yelped as his eyes fell on the handgun Kaoru had in her hand.

Kenji stopped screeching to giggle at the 'funny words Yahiko-nii was saying' and Kaoru glared at him. "You. Do not. Swear. In front. Of. _Kenji_!"

"Oi, Kenshin! Protect me! Kaoru's gonna kill me! …Aw shi-!"

Kenshin looked at his Kaoru-dono, his two sons. _I will protect them. I may no longer be the Battousai, but I still know how to use a gun. I will not kill the boy if he comes after me. I do not know if I even have the right to blame him for wanting to kill me. But I swear to god – if he even_ touches _my family…_

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Kenshin did not smoke often. In fact, he was pretty sure he had quit when he moved in to Kaoru's place because she didn't like the smell. But it calmed him down, helped him think more clearly and he thought that in a time of stress, she wouldn't begrudge him if he did it outside, just like always. So he leaned against the railing with his elbows and puffed out thin streams of smoke that almost completely disappeared away from him as he watched the scenery speed by.

He had not taken the gun from Kaoru yet. He knew that she was wordlessly doubting his resolve, but she knew he needed time to strengthen it, so she gave him time and said nothing. The gun represented his resolve, he thought. While he still did not take it, his resolve was wavering. It would be when he took it with a firm hand, his tenacity would be confirmed.

Saitou's words still echoed in his mind. '… _He'd set the world on fire if it meant you burned too._ ' Enishi sounded half-crazed with rage. He'd had ten years to cultivate it after all. _There are some that forgive… Or at least forget over time. For others… Revenge is what they live for – every waking moment – they sharpen it, hone it until it is stronger than any humanity left in them._

 _I suppose I am no stranger to those wanting to take revenge on me_ , thought Kenshin. _I was a killer among killers. But… As far as anyone knows, the Battousai is dead. I am simply Himura Kenshin. I do not kill. I will never kill again._

 _This one is simply a wanderer passing through… This one's name is Himura Kenshin, indeed it is._ That is what he had said to countless. And who would believe that the best killer-for-hire of the 'war' was a small, slender, effeminate-looking man who managed to look barely twenty when he was already in his thirties. Kaoru… His wonderful Kaoru-dono had covered the scar that earned him so many odd and even angry looks on the streets.

 _The Battousai is dead. The 'war' is over._ This is what he told himself, over and over again. But now he doubted it. After all it could be no coincidence that Shinomori Aoshi, Saitou Hajime, that Hong Kong weapons mogul Wu Heishin – and that strange and seemingly dangerous boy who knew his identity were all on this train. _Will there be another gang war?_ he wondered. _God forbid._

' _You've been underground for far too long, Battousai. Rather,_ avoiding _the underground for too long_.' Saitou was right, yet again.

 _Where did Saitou get his information from, I wonder. Is it truly reliable? Saitou is an intelligent man – I know this better than most. But… Could he have been mistaken? Somehow. Please… Let him be mistaken._

The sky was darkening, the sun was the color of amber and sinking behind the horizon that was rushing by. Telegraph poles, trees, flat expanses of wheat fields… There was a church somewhere far away in the fields. It was white and the steeple was glinting gold and red from the setting sun. _I will protect them. My family. I will protect everyone who cries out. But… If Enishi is truly so far gone, how will I be able to stop him without killing him, alone?_

Kaoru will not shoot a person. She is a ridiculously good sharp-shooter, but she will never shoot a person. Saitou doesn't ask any questions and aims straight for the head. Sano… He may be one of the strongest and most reliable men I know, but hates having to kill and he wouldn't know how to use a gun. Shinomori… Can I even trust him? Will he attack Enishi? Enishi has his subordinates here too…

Kenshin tried to calm himself, but he could find no way out. Will I have to find him before he finds me? And what then? Will I shoot him? Push him from the train and hope he does not die? Somehow overpower him, tie him up and… What? …What the hell am I thinking…

He was jerked from his thoughts by a sharp sound – that of the window of someone's compartment being thrown open. An unfamiliar voice laughed, belonging to a man – a young one. "…I am only going to stick my head out to smoke." there was an audible smirk. "You won't be able to push me out the window, don't worry Gein." There was probably a response, as the voice laughed.

Kenshin peered over with curiosity, then jumped back before he could be seen, his eyes widening with shock.

A young man with striking white hair that stuck in all directions was leaning onto the windowsill with his head resting on his elbows, a cigarette between his teeth. As he took off his small round sunglasses to reveal cold turquoise eyes – there was no doubt about his identity.

It had been nine years since Kenshin had seen him last, but it was without a doubt, Yukishiro Enishi – the brother of Kenshin's late first wife. It became crystal clear for Kenshin in that moment. Yukishiro Enishi was indeed on the train – and he would exact revenge on Kenshin for the sake of his sister. Saitou was right. As always. God fucking damn it.

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Kenshin opened the door to the compartment and met Kaoru's eyes. Kenji was asleep and Yahiko was nodding off. He knelt before Kaoru, resting his elbows on her lap and looking up at her. "He really is here." he whispered. "Saitou was right."

Kaoru stroked his cheek, pushing his hair back from his face. "So what will you do?" she sighed.

He stood up and took her hand in his. He saw the gun's handle sticking out of Kaoru's handbag. "In your purse?" he asked in a low voice, a little amused.

She blushed a little. "Well it's not like I knew where else to put it!" she hissed.

Eyes narrowing, he reached out and took the gun into his hand. "What will I do?" he asked himself, repeating Kaoru's question. His knuckles tightened around the handle of a gun – something he was so used to, that he had not done for so, so long – automatically checking whether it was loaded or not. It was. Kenshin looked up and met Kaoru's eyes. "I will find him before he finds me, I will fight him, I will tell him what really happened and I will not kill him." The gun felt heavy inside the inner pocket of his jacket as he put it away. "I am going to protect everyone." he smiled grimly. "No. This one will protect everyone, indeed I will. No matter what happens – no matter what this one has to do."


	22. Chapter 22

**Sanosuke**

In the dining car, Sanosuke once more wolfed down a massive dinner as Megumi looked on with gentle disapproval. As the hours of his travelling with her went on, he wondered more and more about her – and the way that she had dodged all his previous questions about her identity and his purpose made him wary. But she did not seem like a bad person to him. Maybe a bit weird, very decisive and bold – but noting bad.

He remembered the single quicksilver tear that ran down her cheek after he had told her Yahiko's story. Her blank face with such expressive eyes – her perfectly straight posture and her hands curled into fists, clutching at the fabric of her skirt. Yahiko was not the only one whose life had been torn apart by drugs obviously – a smart lady like her knew that – he knew. But when you put a name, a face on the 'suffering masses' you can't _help_ but feel something. And she had felt so much, he wondered if she was kind of like Yahiko or something. And it hit him.

 _I don't know_ nothing _about this lady. Hell, as far as I know, her name might not even be Takani Megumi, she might not even_ be _a doctor, heck, she's probably not even twenty-seven! But even so… I'm_ trusting _this lady. What the damn is wrong with me._

He hadn't realized that his eyes were boring into her until she smirked. "Something on my face?"

Sanosuke jerked back, hitting his knee on the underside table and his back on the back of the chair, almost falling over backwards and taking the table with him. "Uh… No. Your face is fine." He grinned quickly. "And when I say fine, I mean _fi-ine_ , Fox-lady."

Megumi shook her head and began to eat daintily, long fingers grasping the fork and knife so perfectly she could've been posing for a 'Correct Table Manners Pamphlet'. Sanosuke began to zone out again. Her fingers were really nice. Long, elegant, the fingernails in a perfect, slightly pointed oval shape and painted an alluring red. The hands themselves looked smooth – but the kind of smoothness that comes from wear and use. There was a writer's callouse on the middle finger of her right hand and very faint white lines of scars drawn across the backs of her hands.

"Hel-lo…! Rooster-head…!"

He blinked again and cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah?" _Witty, Sano, real witty. She's practically falling over herself for your charms._

She snorted, shaking her head. "I was _asking_ you, if you wanted a second portion." She said, not quite meeting his eyes. "Don't make me repeat it again."

Sanosuke stared at her a little. "What's up, lady? You never-"

Clearing her throat a little, Megumi took a sip of her drink and still didn't look him in the eyes. "It's just…" her fingers tapped on the edge of the table. "You said that you don't always know where your next meal is coming from – or something like that. …And I'm the one paying for you so I feel responsible- I, no, that's not- I mean, if you're still hungry, I _can_ afford to get you more, you know."

"Fox-lady…"

Megumi's fingers stopped tapping. "…But… But that's no excuse for bad table manners!" she said, meeting his eyes.

"Don't worry 'bout me Fox-lady." He said gently, his eyes softening. "I'm not hungry." Was it just his imagination or did the porcelain skin of her elegant cheekbones have a slight pinkness to them? _Wait. Hell, I've made tons of women blush. Literally no woman can resist my many charms. But… Porcelain skin? Elegant cheekbones? Where do I even_ know _these words from? …And why in relation to her. Sure she's hot but- Yeah. She's hot. And smart. And super… Super… I dunno. Just_ super _. Shit. Stop thinking like that._ He forced a carefree grin. "Thanks…!"

She began to eat again. "…Just so you know – the offer stands for the entirety of this trip."

Sanosuke smiled. "Thanks." _Damn… I'm an idiot. …This lady… I've fallen – hard. And it's only been what? Two days?_

Lost in thought, he did not hear the clearing of a throat behind him, nor did he feel the tapping of a gentle hand on his shoulder. Only when a cold glass of ice water was pressed to the back of his neck, making him jump up and swear loudly, did he notice the person standing behind him with an innocent expression and a glass in his hand. "Sano… This one needs to talk to you." Kenshin said, and Sanosuke noticed a slight worried tilt to his eyebrows and a tight set to his jaw.

The two men nodded to Megumi, Kenshin with a gentle smile and an apology – and Sanosuke with a grin and a witticism. They stepped out of the dining car and Kenshin's face became serious. "This one…" he said with a deep breath. "This one has reason to believe that I will be targeted, as well as Kaoru-dono and the children."

"What the fuck?" Sanosuke cracked his knuckles and neck with a growl. "Who is the guy? We'll go beat him up!"

Kenshin took a breath. "It's… Not that simple, indeed it is not."

"Huh?" _Hell, one punch from me, and the guy'll be begging for his life! And Kenshin… He's on a whole 'nother level!_

"This one… Told you about Tomoe, did I not?" his voice was quiet. "How I caused her death and how she gave me the scar…" as if instinctively, the red-haired man's hand went up to draw a horizontal line across his cheek where the scar in question was. "I told you, I remember, that she had a younger brother. Enishi is his name. He… Deeply resents this one for what I had done – and has had so for the ten years that I had been anonymous – Himura Kenshin the vagabond, not Battousai the gunman. …He's on this train and he wants to kill this one – it does not matter to him what or who stands in his way, for he will destroy it."

"…What the fu…" Sanosuke wanted to hug his friend, to beat up everyone who messed with him. _Ugh,_ fuck _this guy, whoever he is! I don't care even if he's a woman, I'm gonna punch him!_

Kenshin continued. "He is not alone. Now, as far as I know, he has something to do with organized crime rings and he has subordinates with him, indeed he does."

Sanosuke shook his head. "Jesus Christ, this train is a mob fest…" he muttered under his breath. He looked at Kenshin. "You know me." He said. "Gimme the word and I'm your man." He raised a determined fist.

Smiling sadly, Kenshin nodded. "I was not this one's intention to get you involved, Sano… But I cannot do it alone, indeed I cannot and you are the most reliable man I know." He raised his hand, curling it into a fist, bumping his knuckles gently against Sanosuke's.

Grinning, Sanosuke nodded. "Alright! Let's go smash some heads!"

"Subtlety." Kenshin said.

"Huh?"

"It's what we're going to need here, indeed it is." Kenshin said. "This one… Does not want to draw undue attention to myself." He sighed. "But in case things get to the worst, I am prepared." He opened his jacket and Sanosuke's eyes widened.

"Is that…?"

"…An old acquaintance named Saitou gave it to me." Kenshin said. "He owes me from ten years ago so now he seems to be looking out as a payback, indeed he is."

Sanosuke slowly nodded. "…So what now?" he asked. _Wait. Saitou? Wha-at?!_

Before Kenshin could say anything, the door of the dining car opened and a young man with shiny black hair and blank sky-blue eyes stepped out. He smiled. "How do you do." He said. "My name is Seta Soujiro."

Sanosuke noticed Kenshin stiffen as he looked at the boy, so Sanosuke decided he didn't like the guy either. "Yo." He said. "Name's Sagara. Sagara Sanosuke." He curled his upper lip and stuck his hands in his pockets, approaching him. "You need somethin'?"

Soujiro did not seem at all intimidated. "Oh no!" he laughed. "Nothing like that, Sanosuke-san, Himura-san." He smiled even wider, his eyes curving into arches, giving him a slightly reptilian appearance in Sanosuke's opinion. "I came to have a chat with you."

"A chat?" asked Kenshin slowly. "This one is afraid I do not catch your drift, Soujiro-dono."

Nodding, Sanosuke stretched his neck, earning a good few cracks that would've sent anyone sane running to save their skins. "What're we gonna chat about with you, huh, Seta?"

"Oh, and here I was, thinking that you may find this _very_ terribly interesting, Sanosuke-san. I mean, aren't you _so_ interested in your, ah, what is it you call her…" Soujiro smirked, his blue eyes flashing up at Sanosuke's. "… _Fox-lady_?"

He stiffened. "What do you know about 'er?" he growled.

"Ju-ust a _li-itle_ more than you, Sanosuke-san!" Soujiro almost sang. "…She really isn't who you think she is, at all."

"Everyone's got some secrets." Snarled Sanosuke. "I might be dumb – but I'm smart enough to know when not to poke my nose into other people's business. … _Seta_."

Soujiro shrugged. "You don't want to hear?" he asked. "Not even about how she's as far away from being a doctor as she possibly can be? How she's a lot more criminal than even _you_ are, Sanosuke-san? You're not even curious about her past? You don't want to know what she has to do with all this? You don't want to know how much she's been lying to you all this time…?"

Sanosuke sighed. "…Right now, you're really annoying me, Seta. I might have this _overwhelming_ urge to _punch_ you right in that _smirking_ face of yours." He said, first starting out in a bored tone which soon devolved into a growl. Then he took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. "There's only one thing that I care about. …She got anything to do with Yukishiro?"

Shaking his head, Soujiro smiled. "She has a great deal to do with others! …But not him in particular."

Sanosuke sighed. "Then that's fine."

Kenshin looked at Soujiro, stepping in front of Sanosuke to face the young man. "Soujiro-dono. This one wants to know one thing, indeed I do. Who is pulling your strings?"

As he flashed a smile, Soujiro flicked his eyes to Kenshin's. "Mostly, I pull my own strings, since Shishio-san gives me free reign."

"Shishio Makoto?" asked Kenshin incredulously.

"Yep!" Soujiro said with a look of happy innocence on his face. "That's the one!"

Sanosuke's eyes widened. _Shishio Makoto… Oh shit. If he's involved, then things are gonna get bloody. He's ruthless and cruel, not like Boss Shinomori. Shinomori might be ruthless, but everything he does is for one goal – the betterment of the Oniwabanshu. Shishio's a crazy pyro who doesn't give a shit if his own men live or die. He likes to watch shit burn – but while being occasionally random he's super smart and ridiculously rich. He tried to take over Vegas but the others, Oniwabanshu's last boss, Okina among them didn't like that. So they all betrayed him (the only time the major Mafia bosses worked together) and turned on him. He was supposed to die when they set him on fire but somehow he survived – and now he's back. I don't think that 'oh shit' covers it._

Soujiro preformed a mock bow. "And now, gentlemen, my act is over, my goal complete." He smiled. "I actually said a great deal more than I meant to." He opened the door to the dining car. "Bye for now!"


	23. Chapter 23

**Aoshi**

Aoshi sat down across from Misao, as before, catching a glimpse of a slim black-haired boy going back to sit with his group. "What did you speak with him about?" he asked, sipping his tea.

Misao leaned back smiling. "Oh, Soujiro-kun was just-" she cut herself off as Aoshi seemed to choke.

Regaining his composure, Aoshi cleared his throat. "…Do you know him?" he asked carefully. _Such familiarity all of a sudden._

"I just met him!" Misao said with a grin. "Real funny guy."

His eyebrow twitched. "…Really." He said. "However funny he may be, I would think it best not to engage with him. It seems that the company he keeps is questionable, to say the least." Aoshi looked at the simpering _woman?_ sitting between the increasingly awkward blond man with vertical hair and a hulking, massive man with deep-set eyes and a very apathetic expression as Soujiro spoke to them. "…Do not trust him." He said at length.

Sea-green eyes narrowed and an eyebrow was raised. "What's that supposed to mean, Aoshi-sama?" she asked. "You think he works for like, _Shishio_ or something?" incredulity entered her tone with the last statement.

"That is actually very possible."

"Hu-uh?" She stared at him. "But he's _my size_ and seems nice even though he's kinda weird…" Misao trailed off, realizing she wasn't proving her point.

Aoshi raised an eyebrow. "Being your size is no indication of anything – as you yourself prove. And seeming nice is something that people do even when they are _not_ , in fact, nice."

"I won't _trust_ him." Misao said, seeming a little put out, drinking some orange juice. "But if he _is_ somebody to do with Shishio, I might find out something interesting if I hang out with him." She added.

 _Does she_ like _him or something?_ Aoshi wondered skeptically. _Was she not trained better than that? But then again, he may be too charming for anyone to handle… Ugh. I am thinking of useless things and getting nowhere_ , he admonished himself. Out loud, he said. "Saitou seems to have taken a great interest in Heishin's body." He said.

Misao's eyes narrowed and she rose from the slump in her chair, back straight – alert. "Does he suspect us?"

"Not that I am aware of." Aoshi said. "He has been staring and staring and pacing around that suite for a very long time now." He looked back at the door. "I would not be surprised if he is still there now."

She shivered in response to that. "There's something that makes me very uneasy about him, besides him being who he is, you know? He seems _hungry_. Starved for action." She drank a little more orange juice, looking into the distance. "…In this rigid era of Prohibition where we have to tiptoe around even drinking a bottle of _booze_ … It's starving him as well as us – even though he works for the guys what started it."

Aoshi gently looked at her. "Look on the bright side." He said. "At least we can make even more money than ever off of selling _less_ of our wine than ever." Misao brightened a little at that. He continued. "The system was weak and corrupted from the start. This Prohibition will not last for more than five years from now, mark my words. I would say even less."

She grinned and chugged her orange juice as he finished the rest of the tea in his cup. "I'm just gonna say 'hi' to Himura ad Kaoru-san!" she said, jumping up.

He nodded and waved a staff member over for a refill. The man seemed pale and his hands shook as he held the teapot. Aoshi raised an eyebrow as he caught the man full-out _staring_ at him. "Is there something the matter?"

The man chewed on his lip nervously. "Beggin' your pardon, sir and meanin' no disrespect, sir…" he said tremulously. "B-but how can ye stand it, sittin' and drinkin' tea on the same train as a murdered man?"

Aoshi took a sip of tea. "…May I ask you something also?" he asked coolly. "If you think in this way, what do you think out and about on the streets?"

"S-sir?"

"Any one of the buildings you pass may have had a great many worse things than murder happen in them. A man you pass on the street may be a murderer. A man whom you may bump shoulders with, crossing the road, he may be fated to die by another's had as soon as he turns the corner." Aoshi said all that flatly. "…Anyone of the passengers on this train might in fact be the perpetrator of this particular crime. I doubt you will be affected in any way, however. I advise you not to worry."

The waiter's hands shook as he received his tip. "…Thanks sir… I think…"

As the waiter departed, Aoshi watched lazily as Misao chatted cheerfully with the Himura family, her wide grin and cheerful laugh somehow lifting the mood of the occupants of the dining car as others filed in. His eyes were sad, however, as he looked at her. _It's my fault that she's like this. She had just killed a man and yet she can still laugh because she's used to it._ He gritted his teeth – then took a breath and resumed his neutral expression.

He stood up. _We should leave before that Saitou shows up. It would be annoying._ With that thought, he made his way over to Misao and greeting the Himura family, extricating her from their small-talk.

Kenshin had smiled at him, still guarded, but he couldn't blame the guy – Aoshi was about to pull a gun on him just last night. "Hello, Aoshi."

"Himura." He nodded. He nodded to the rest of the family.

Misao smiled up at him. "You wanna leave already?" she asked.

"There is someone we would like to avoid meeting." He said quietly.

She got his drift immediately and they excused themselves.

In their compartment Aoshi sat with a book in his hands as Misao lay on her seat – changing positions from weird to weirder. First, she simply lay on her back, then got bored and lay on her stomach, then her side. She then hung backwards off the seat with her legs up against the wall. Aoshi watched with varying degrees of amusement over the top of his book.

She noticed him watching and smiled. "D'you think that Saitou's gonna come and bang down our door in a few hours or so?"

He shrugged. "Who knows. I don't think so – but we could be underestimating him." Aoshi clicked his tongue. "And he is exactly the type of person not to underestimate."

"Hm." Misao gave a noncommittal grunt and twisted so that she was laying with her legs bent over her body and her elbows resting on the floor. "…How come you think that Soujiro guy's up to no good?" she asked finally.

Aoshi's gaze shifted from the pages of his book up to Misao's wide green eyes. "A bad feeling." He shrugged. "It is best to be cautious." _Also, he was flirting with Misao. But that's not a reason. No._

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Misao seemed to be getting more and more restless on account of her boundless energy. Aoshi occasionally watched her over the top of his book. Finally, hanging upside-down by her knees from the luggage compartment above the seats, Misao voiced a question. "What're you reading?"

As Aoshi put down his book, Misao's upside-down face in front of his own he almost smiled. "I am reading 'The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire – Second Edition'."

She frowned slightly. "Is it interesting?"

"Rather. It's rather informative also." He tapped the cover with his finger. "The mistakes that people in positions of power made and what it cost them are very interesting. It is a book of 'what to do' at the beginning and 'what not to do' at the end."

Her braid swung as she nodded. "Right. So what do you do?"

"It isn't all about making people fear you so that you can control them more easily. It is that you need to look like you have a reason for everything you do and make people like you – at least, like you more than the other side." He met her eyes. "That is what makes a proficient leader. One does not have to embody good or look like you're not being evil. One needs to be rational."

"Like Aoshi-sama?"

He sighed. "I try."

She grabbed onto the edge of the luggage compartment and swung down, landing on the plush seat next to Aoshi. "…Can I ask you a question?" she asked slowly.

"What about?" Aoshi looked at her, on guard.

Misao looked down and nervously began tapping her fingers on the seat. "About Himura. Who is he really? Last night, why were you so…" she searched for a word and didn't find one.

Aoshi put aside his book and stood up, beginning to pace, stopping at the window, looking at the wheat and corn fields rushing by. "Ten years ago, during the gang war, there was a legendary hitman by the name of Himura Battousai. Nobody knew who he worked for but he killed many, many people. Unlike most guns-for-hire, he actually had a moral code and would not just kill someone for a wad of bills. He had to have a reason – to deal out justice for the sake of the people. He was the most skilled killer out of everybody – his only match was the third division captain of the Shinsengumi – our acquaintance Saitou Hajime."

"W-what…? H-Himura?"

"Yes indeed. The Oniwabanshu under Okina had few run-ins with him – we hired his services once. At that time he was very young, and I was still a child. But an incident occurred and he disappeared. The death of a woman." Aoshi sighed, lighting a cigarette. "Even I do not know much, but it seemed as if he knew the woman – cared for her. Even as a killer-for-hire he had a strange set of ideals. Somehow, the woman's death was a result of his actions – not many people know this – but the cross-shaped scar that the Battousai was known for was her doing."

Misao's eyes were wide, her cheeks pale.

"The incident shocked him so badly that he stopped killing. Somehow, even though he was the most fearsome, the strongest of them all, he refused to kill. And when the government got even more involved and completely slaughtered the Sekihoutai – things quieted down and the war was over. Of course, there were deals made to make it happen, the Sekihoutai was the weakest ad got eliminated because it could be of no use to anyone. Then he just disappeared and was never found again. Rumors had been circling around the underground for years that he had died. But a few years ago – maybe four? I cannot remember exactly – there was a rumor that Udou Jinei went head-to-head with the Battousai in Chicago. Udou died – but not because the Battousai killed him. He shot himself in the head after he lost."

An anxious hand over her mouth, Misao nodded.

"From what I can understand, now the Battousai poses no threat – he does not kill, he does not even have a gun. He hides his scar and he speaks of 'the Battousai' as a different person. However…" Aoshi stared out the window. The cigarette between his fingers snapped as his knuckles whitened. "I cannot trust him that easily."

Rubbing a sleeve over her eyes, Misao sniffed. "That's so sad…"

Aoshi looked at her with slight surprise. "Sad?" he thought a little. "I suppose it is." He took his handkerchief from his jacket pocket and proffered it to her.

Mumbling her thanks, she took it and dabbed at her eyes. "…An'-an' he's such a nice guy too…!" she sniffed. "…Ain't fair. At all."

 _The world is not fair, Misao. We've both found that out the hard way. But I hope that someday Misao will be able to forget that and live her life in a world that at least_ pretends _to be fair. And I hope I can make that world for her._ He reached down and brushed her shoulder with his fingertips. "It is best to be cautious." He said quietly.


	24. Chapter 24

**Misao**

Misao really enjoyed eating meals together with her family. When she was younger it used to be all of them, Omasu, Kuro, Shiro, Okon, Hannya, Beshimi, Shikijou, Hyottoko, Okina, Aoshi and her – crowded around a table, stuffing their faces, sometimes laughing, other times serious. Either way, she loved it. But that didn't last forever. Aoshi, Hannya and the other guys had left – and then didn't come back. Okina didn't sit with everyone then, he was too busy – and Kuro was almost always gone.

Years later, when Aoshi did come back, he was much more withdrawn. He took his meals in his office, plates lost among piles of papers and empty clips. Somehow, meals were no longer family meals. They were 'Family' meals. For Misao, this was inexcusable. One of her greatest wishes was to eat dinner – or anything, really – with her whole family again, just like old times.

But eating like this, just the two of them Aoshi and her talking, just the two of them… It sure as hell wasn't bad either. Not to mention that the food on the train was extremely good.

She noticed that there were fewer people in the dining car than before – Heishin's killing producing quite a negative effect on the passengers. Fear was in the air, so thick you could cut it with a knife. Absentmindedly, she chewed on her steak, until her teeth clacked against the metal of the fork. Aoshi glanced at her for a moment but said nothing. At the table for four right next to them, Himura Kenshin and the family sat down. Aoshi's story echoed in her head. ' _Even as a killer-for-hire he had a strange set of ideals. Somehow, the woman's death was a result of his actions…_ ' She quickly dismissed the thought. She didn't think that Kenshin would like her thinking of him like that and she had a good experience with him.

Misao waved at them, her mouth full of steak again. Aoshi nodded. To Misao, he looked preoccupied, thinking about something, probably something serious, but she did not pry. She sighed and began to devour her salad, chugging her water. As she was done, she felt someone poke her left shoulder.

She looked to the left and saw nobody. Her right shoulder was poked and she looked to the right, then grinned and looked to the left, seeing Soujiro's surprised face. "Oh?" he said. "Well, I'm caught!" he said with a smile. "Just wanted to say hello."

She smiled. "Hello."

Aoshi looked up, slightly surprised. He raised an eyebrow. "I do not think we have met." He said flatly.

Unflustered, Soujiro stuck out a hand with a big grin. "Hey! Nice to meet you! My name's Seta Soujiro!"

"A pleasure." Aoshi said dryly, shaking Soujiro's proffered hand. "Shinomori Aoshi."

There seemed to be a tension in the air, more like an aura of animosity from Aoshi, Misao realized. Soujiro seemed to cheerfully invite himself over to sit with them, cracking jokes, occasionally absentmindedly stealing a bit of food off Misao's plate and then apologizing profusely. Aoshi stayed mostly silent, occasionally shooting sharp glances at Soujiro, who seemed to be demonstrating the idea of 'getting too comfortable'. But he was friendly and good-natured about it while at the same time acting as if he didn't even mean to.

"What do you think about humans, Misao-chan?" he asked, a usual enigmatic smile playing on his lips.

"Humans?" Misao repeated, slightly confused. "I'm sure I don't really understand what you mean!" she laughed. "They're okay, I guess. But I think, as a human myself, I shouldn't be passing judgement on the rest of my kind. And usually, humans leave it up to someone, something else to judge them as a species. Like God."

"Hm… That's an interesting answer. I've never really thought of it that way…" the smile on Soujiro's lips widened and Misao almost got chills on her spine for a second. Then his wide blue eyes lit up and Misao blinked. _What was that?_ Soujiro turned to Aoshi, who slowly took a sip of his tea. "What do _you_ think, Mr. Shinomori?"

"What do I think of humans?" Aoshi set down his cup with a clink and stared at Soujiro for a little, then spoke slowly. "There are two kinds. The kind that people see as bad and the ones people see as good. Either way, the people who see them could be very wrong. What would a 'bad' person do to be seen as good? Who would he have to… Kill?" a sharp glance from Aoshi's icy eyes seemed to shoot towards Soujiro.

And Soujiro turned away with a sunny smile. "Who indeed, Mr. Shinomori." He said lightly. The smile somehow did not reach his eyes.


	25. Chapter 25

**Soujiro**

Soujiro was finding it more and more difficult to smile. First there was that message from Houji. ' _Is Shinomori a threat? How is Battousai responding?_ ' Soujiro was fine with killing Yukishiro Enishi. He was fine with killing the people that followed him. He was interested in how things would end with Battousai. But for the sake of the slim girl with the long braid and sea-colored eyes he lied to his only master – the man he was supposed to be indebted to – the man whose every whim Soujiro adhered.

' _Shinomori not threat at all._ ' He had communicated over the radio. ' _Battousai not moved yet._ '

Was it that she intrigued him? Confused him? Did he like her, or was he simply interested in her story – what kind of a human she would turn out to be? He couldn't decide. But he didn't want anything bad to happen to her. So he lied.

Aoshi really was a threat – probably one of the greatest threats to Shishio. Shishio Makoto was a smart man – ingenious and cruel. But he had one blindness – his arrogance and his belief in strength being the ultimate power. Shishio simply did not believe that anyone could be stronger than him. He had been submerged in flames and come out alive. From nothing, he had made a crime empire and based himself in New York. He was ruthless, cruel and enjoyed it – never expecting much of others until he saw what they were capable of with his own eyes.

Shinomori Aoshi on the other hand, was something else entirely. The man put the 'organized' into 'organized crime'. And Soujiro had his suspicions about his coming to New York in the first place. After all, the man had an elaborate plan for every movement of his – a reason for everything he did. But he knew what would happen if he told Shishio. _Kill them_ , he would say – and then he'd have to shoot the bright girl and the sullen-looking man that she looked at with such adoration. He didn't want to do that. He really didn't.

 _I have always done what Shishio-san told me to do simply because there is no other thing for me to do and because I owe him my life. But now that there is another way, something that I want to do more… I betray him like this? That is a very human thing to do, isn't it? After all, I've seen so many do the exact same thing._

His thoughts were interrupted by Kamatari beginning to relay another message over the radio. "Shishio here. Kill everyone who's in our way. Yukishiro, his people. Watch Shinomori. Battousai can be an asset. Use him. Yumi says 'hi', 'have fun' and 'good luck'. Shishio out."

Chou yawned. "That was a lo-ong one."

Kamatari glared at him. "Shishio-sama _himself_ sent that message." He sighed, looking with starry eyes up at the ceiling. "Ah… Be a little more respectful."

"Just sayin', yo, your obsession with the Boss is gettin' kinda weird here. Yumi-neesan's his wife, ain't she?"

Hissing, Kamatari was about to lash out with his red lacquered nails, when Anji looked up from what he was holding in his hands and gave them both a long, flat, disappointed look. The two looked guiltily at each other and sat down without a word. Soujiro stifled a giggle. _Mama Anji_ , the thought came to him unbidden.

Soujiro sat down between Anji and Kamatari, leaning back onto the plush seat with a sigh. Chou looked at him a few times before speaking. "Yo, Seta?"

"Hm?" Soujiro tried to inject a note of cheerfulness into his tone. "What is it, Chou-san?"

The blond man began to clean one of his many guns. "I don't really get it cuz I never really got told. This whole trip, the four of us and Yukishiro got sent here to kill Heishin. That's total overkill, yo. It's even more of an overkill when ya realize Yukishiro's got five of his guys with him. Now that Heishin's dead, we gotta suddenly kill Yukishiro and his people – suddenly this Shinomori guy's involved and we got the Battousai on board as well?" Chou shrugged. "I dunno shit, but I feel like we're just bein' thrown around by the higher-ups – if I don't get paid double for this I'm gonna be pissed, yo."

Anji raised an eyebrow and looked at Soujiro and Kamatari looked away, suddenly becoming very interested in his nails. Anji began to slowly speak, his voice low and gravelly. "You are Shishio Makoto's favorite gun. He tells you things. We cannot do what is expected of us if we do not know the expectations."

With a laugh, Soujiro winked. "Right you are, Anji-san! And to answer your question, Chou-san – you will get paid _very_ nicely for this." He glanced sharply at Kamatari. "As Kamatari-chan could _also_ tell you." He said, raising an eyebrow. "The plan was like this. We need Yukishiro Enishi-san gone, dead, destroyed. So far he is one of us, but he could turn coat any moment – he is being bought by Heishin and his people. Also, his personal revenge will get in the way of future jobs. So to 'test his loyalty' as if – we were all going to go and kill Heishin. But Enishi-san brought his men with him, so that's why there are so many of us and why we're using the Battousai to fight at least _some_ of them. The man took a vow never to kill, but in extreme circumstances, who knows what a man'll do? Shishio-san calculated all this, amazing, isn't it?" Soujiro smiled.

Slowly nodding, Anji looked carefully at Soujiro from under low eyebrows. Chou nodded then stopped. "Why Shinomori?"

Soujiro shrugged. "No idea. He's probably just being a little paranoid, Shishio-sama is!"

Kamatari shot a glare at Soujiro but said nothing.

"Aw, sure, I get it now. Nice plannin' here, yo! The Boss's a smart guy, ain't he?"

"Oh he is, Chou-san, he is. And he knows it too."


	26. Chapter 26

**Sanosuke**

That 'Seta creep' really set Sanosuke on edge. If Sanosuke was a cat, his fur would be rubbed the wrong way, his hackles would be standing up and he'd probably be hissing. _How the hell is it any of his business who the Fox-lady is? Is he gonna screw stuff up with Kenshin too? If he does – I'll punch him._ Unconsciously, he tightened his fists and ground his jaw, sticking his hands aggressively into his pockets.

Kenshin's amethyst eyes were calm and smooth as he lay a hand on Sanosuke's arm. "...You should calm down, Sano, indeed you should."

Nodding unconvincingly, Sanosuke flashed a crooked grin. "Yeah. Just… Like, if I could just go and… Punch a bunch of people systematically in the face and solve everything like that, wouldn't it be easier?"

Kenshin sighed, smiling slightly. "Oh yes. Things would be a lot easier, indeed they would. But this one thinks you should not worry. I have… Gotten help, indeed this one has."

"Help?" Sanosuke looked curiously over at Kenshin, forgetting about cracking his knuckles for a moment.

"Yes." Kenshin's jaw tightened. "...There is someone on this train whom this one has had some minor dealings with in the past. …Well, not with him in _person_ , indeed not, but with his group – which he is now the leader of."

"He sketchy?" asked Sanosuke. He didn't wait for an answer. "He's sketchy, right."

"Rather." Kenshin said with a faint smile.

"…Who is it?"

"Shinomori Aoshi, indeed it is."

Sanosuke's eyes almost popped out of his head. "You made a deal with Boss _Shinomori_?!"

Giving Sanosuke a sideways look, Kenshin nodded. "Indeed so. …You work for him sometimes, right Sano?"

"…Yeah. I did it for when the kid was… Y'know. I needed the cash." Sanosuke looked down. _Somehow, when I talk to Kenshin about this kinda shit it's like… I'm embarrassed or something…_

"This one has nothing against that." Kenshin said comfortingly. "Indeed, this one may be your colleague now."

"Huh?" Sanosuke's eyes widened and he grabbed the smaller man by the shoulders. "You're serious? Shit, man! Aw shit! … _God_ I wanna punch someone!" he growled, spinning around and punching the air. "…Why'd you gotta get dragged into this shit all over again!" he stopped, turning around. "…Does the Missy know?"

Quietly sighing, Kenshin nodded. "Kaoru-dono understood but… She doesn't like it, indeed she does not. She also didn't like the fact that I had a bottle of moonshine in my suitcase. It was meant to be a gift for Shishou, indeed she didn't. But I gave a some to Aoshi because this one thought, 'hey, business is well done over drinks'. But Kaoru-dono really didn't like it."

"No shit." Muttered Sanosuke. "…What does the Boss want from you as payment?" he asked.

"Loyalty." Kenshin said. "He asked for loyalty." Smiling, he met Sanosuke's eyes. "Something that's hard to come by these day, isn't it?"

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Sanosuke stretched out in the compartment, sitting on the floor right next to the door to Megumi's room. He leaned his cheek against the cold wood. "Hey…" he called. "Fox-lady?"

"Yes?" she responded almost immediately.

"So, what kind of doctor are you?" he asked.

There was a pause. "The kind that tries to make sick people healthy? Is there another kind?" she laughed. Was it his imagination or was her laugh a little shaky?

"…Right." He said. "That's cool." There was another pause, then Sanosuke asked another question. "What would a rich-lady doctor want with a down-and-out street thug like me?"

On the other side of the door, Megumi said nothing for a while. "…Because this 'rich-lady doctor' is ridiculously desperate." He could almost sense her sad smirk through the door. "And you don't seem half bad, Rooster-head."


	27. Chapter 27

**Aoshi**

Aoshi trusted that Seta Soujiro boy less and less every time he saw him. It could've been because of the familiar way he treated Misao – but Aoshi did not think himself that petty. It seemed more to be a certain 'wrong-ness' the boy had about him. His bright, mirthless smiles, his sharp and precise yet seemingly absentminded movements. There seemed to be something fake in the way his eyes sparkled excitedly and the way he playfully tilted his head to the side.

Another thing was the number of weapons the boy had under his clothes. As someone used to people packing heat, Aoshi could tell at a glance who had a gun and who didn't. That Soujiro boy had more than one – a few knives too. Aoshi did not doubt that he could use them.

' _Who indeed, Mr. Shinomori._ ' The boy had said. If Aoshi was not as used as he was to dealing with the most unnerving of people, he would have gotten chills. Soujiro was unapologetically cheerful, yet with the smell of blood around him as thick as a winter coat. _Why did he seem to be so interested in Misao?_ Aoshi wondered. Seta Soujiro was definitely on the list of people to watch out for on this train.

However, speaking of people to watch out for, Aoshi still had lingering suspicions about a certain Himura Kenshin who was the ex-hitman Battousai. Aoshi knew well that it is hard to rid a wolf of its' claws and teeth. Had Himura Battousai truly taken the 'path of righteousness' and chosen not to kill? Aoshi had his doubts.

He reclined against the wall, a cigarette dangling from his lips and a book in his hand – alone with his thoughts. _I should have turned the light on._ When he heard a knock at the door he assumed it was Misao. "Come in." he said, not looking up from his book. "It's not locked." _The footsteps sound wrong and there's no sound of the swishing dress._ The thought came to him in an instant and he moved fast, putting his gun to the head of the person who had entered.

"O-oro?" Kenshin put his hands up slowly. "T-this one only wanted to have a drink…" Aoshi looked at the bottle in the smaller man's hand and slowly removed his gun.

"My apologies." He said stiffly. "At first I mistook you for Misao, but hearing that you were not, I assumed the worst." He looked carefully at Kenshin. "A drink?" he stubbed out his cigarette.

Kenshin smiled amiably. "I thought having a drink together would be a way to remember and put the past behind us – and resolve our differences, indeed it would." He looked down, a sad tilt about his eyebrows. "This one could see you still doubt me, although you did not pull a gun until now…" he said. "…Which is always good." He smiled, attempting at a lighter mood.

Aoshi put his gun back in its holster and took off his jacket. "It is difficult to believe that the legendary hitman of ten years ago is an easy-going airy-fairy family type now." He took large gulp and gave the bottle back. _Shit. I shouldn't be doing this. I have no tolerance._

Kenshin looked a bit offended yet slightly amused. "Airy-fairy?" he sipped from the bottle.

Taking the bottle from the red-haired man, Aoshi took another swig. "Sit down." He said. "Not on Misao's bed." _Most of the weapons are underneath that_. He passed the bottle back to Kenshin and opened the window a crack. "…It's snowing." He said. _Fuck it. Maybe only a few sips._

"Oh, is it?" Kenshin drank. He peered over and smiled. "Rather beautiful, isn't it?"

"Hm." Aoshi gave a non-committal grunt. "…What have you come to me for?" he asked.

"This one wanted to have a drink, indeed I did." Kenshin said, maybe a little too smoothly.

Turning, Aoshi raised an eyebrow and lit his cigarette. "Usually, when people come to see me with a bottle of moonshine and a gun in their jacket, that have something they need from me." He said with slight amusement. "I could be mistaken, of course, but I do not think so. You've come to see the Boss of the Oniwabanshu."

"Ah, you've caught me…!" With a sigh, Kenshin shook his head, smiling a little embarrassedly.

"So?" prompted Aoshi, breathing smoke as he spoke.

Kenshin took a drink from the bottle, looking down. His face darkened. "There's someone who wants to kill this one and is unscrupulous about what he has to do to get there. I am afraid for the lives of my wife and children, indeed I am. I thought I had put the underworld behind me when I left, so I did. Yet it seems as if traces of the underworld still cling to this one, no matter how hard I try to leave." He looked up. "And so, to save my family, I will go back into the underground again. Please help me. This one will do anything."

Aoshi's fingers tapped slowly as he looked at Kenshin, thinking intently. "…Who is it that wants you dead?" he asked finally.

"Yukishiro Enishi. You know of him?"

"…I see. Last time I checked, his affiliations lay somewhere between Heishin and Shishio. He has a small yet skilled group of mercenaries surrounding him." He looked sharply at Kenshin. "Heishin may be dead, yet Shishio is an enemy I do not want to make lightly. …You want him dead?"

The latter looked pained. "This one does not want him dead. I simply want to keep my family safe, indeed I do." He looked away. "…Is killing him the only way to do it?" he asked quietly.

He did not answer immediately. "It would be easier." Aoshi said. "On this train, I have few allies. Misao and I, a few contacts – not fighters, not killers. Just as in any operation, the Yukishiro will be protected. From what I know, he has four protecting him. Otowa Hyouko – an ex-spy. Innui Banjin – a ridiculously skilled street fighter. Yatsume Mumyoi – some mercenary I hadn't heard of before he began working for Yukishiro – apparently, he was a Colorado miner – and Kujiranami Hyogo – soldier-turned-hitman."

Kenshin bit his lip. "This one knows that Kujiranami. His left arm is missing, yes?"

"Indeed it is."

"…That was this one's doing." Sighed Kenshin. "…These other people must have a grudge against this one, indeed they must…"

He raised an eyebrow but did not say anything. Instead he sat down on Misao's bed and furrowed his brows. "There is one more man under Yukishiro. This man is called Gein – a master of disguise. He seems to have no other name and no other past. He used to work for me, before Yukishiro offered him more cash. But it seems Yukishiro is rather a piece of work and does not pay as often as he says he will. Gein's description of Yukishiro Enishi sounds as if he is a madman, hell-bent on revenge. He wants out. So, his loyalties can be shaken – indeed, they already have."

"Really?"

"He assisted me with the hit on Heishin. Indeed, he was one of the 'four gods'."

"Four gods?" asked Kenshin, confused.

"The bodyguards. He was the 'fifth god', going back and forth, gathering information."

"This one sees…" Kenshin slowly nodded.

There was a silence.

Aoshi leaned back and looked at Kenshin through narrowed eyes. "…What will you offer me?" he asked. "I have decided to undertake this, as it coincides with my plans. I will do my best not to have Yukishiro killed, although, if he does die, I still expect you to pay up."

Starting to pat his pockets, Kenshin pulled out a few crumpled dollar bills, a paperclip, a lighter, a pack of cigarettes, some loose coins and a can opener. "This doesn't have much money, but-"

"Keep your money, Battousai." Aoshi said. "It is not that which I want. I am a reasonable man. You have a child to support, your wife works hard, you work hard. Keep your money."

"Then what is it?"

Standing, Aoshi stubbed out his cigarette. "I want your loyalty. To me, to the Oniwabanshu. You don't have to do anything. Just be loyal to me – and one day, when I am in need of your services – I will call upon you. Your decision to no longer kill… I do not understand it – but I respect it. Will you give me your loyalty, Himura?"

Kenshin stood too. "Then I give it." He said, bowing low. "I, Himura Kenshin, pledge my loyalty to Shinomori Aoshi and the Oniwabanshu." He straightened slowly and then smiled, a hint of sadness in his eyes, or was that just Aoshi's imagination? "I guess this one can only drink in Oniwabanshu-affiliated speakeasies now, right?"

Allowing himself a very brief smile, Aoshi met the other man's violet eyes. "Oh yes." He said. "Only those."

They sat in silence, the transaction having passed between them, now beginning to relax.

"…But really, why is it so hard to believe that this one would put my past behind me? Have you never thought of doing the same?" Kenshin cast a few wary glances in Aoshi's direction before saying this and passed the bottle of booze to Aoshi.

There was another long silence.

Aoshi did not turn around. "Ten years ago… I was still a kid, really." He said slowly, taking a deep draught from the bottle. "Himura Battousai was a man of legend. He was known to be a legendary assassin, who, besides having killed a large number of people, planned out things very carefully, could come up with fool-proof plans in split seconds. Killed without hesitation. …To say nothing of his skill with the gun and martial arts. The Oniwabanshu had some dealings with you in the past and I saw you many times. But after the New York underground war ten years ago… You disappeared and became a legend. I never believed that you died." Turning back to face Kenshin, Aoshi looked pained. "I admired what you were. I strove to become someone like that. To become the strongest and protect what was important to me." He took several more large mouthfuls from the bottle. _I can blame everything on the moonshine later. …Yeah. I'm definitely drunk now._

"This one remembers you." Kenshin smiled. "You were a such a serious young man – looking barely eighteen but acting so much older." Kenshin took the bottle back and took a large swig to match Aoshi's. "…From the outside it may have seemed grandiose and amazing. But to have the blood of so many people on my hands… To realize that I was no more than a tool in the hands of those with money… And the person who was most important to me then was taken away because of my 'killing without hesitation'… I was not able to protect the person most important to me _because_ I had all this skill, indeed." he looked at Aoshi. "Those whom you've killed will come back to haunt you. You may have chosen that way of life… Ice-cold blood of war flowing in your veins… But really… It's Misao-dono I feel sorry for, indeed I do."

" _Misao_?" Aoshi stepped forward, his eyes wild and his jaw clenched. " _What do_ you _know about Misao_." It wasn't a question. It was a definitive growl. _You know nothing of Misao, Battousai. Do not pretend._ Aoshi snatched the bottle from Kenshin's hands and drank deeply.

"Only what this one can see. I apologize in any assumptions, indeed I do."

"The Oniwabanshu is her home, her family – she has made a conscious decision to be part of the family business." Aoshi began to pace. "If you know that there is a reason for killing, then it will not bother you" he took another draught. "We… We're _professionals_. This is our way of life and we have devoted ourselves completely to the Oniwabanshu, because it is all we have. Our family. Our friends. They kept us when we had nowhere to go." He took several large gulps. "You… You have no idea… She says she is happy…"

Kenshin looked at Aoshi with sad eyes. "I can see that you doubt Misao's happiness and that you wish for it more than anything else, Aoshi."

Aoshi did not answer and drank the rest of the bottle, chugging everything that was left. His legs almost collapsed under him and he leaned his back against the wall. His bangs covered his eyes. "The first time she killed a man…" he said quietly. "It was when she was sixteen. I heard the gunshot and opened the window… And she was standing there, shaking, looking down at the body of the man. There was blood on her dress… He was an assassin sent to kill me. It was the day I had become the official Okashira – the head of the family. He was sent to kill me… And Misao had slit his throat with a knife I gave her for her fifteenth birthday."

Kenshin listened, sadness written all over his features. "This one… Is truly sorry."

"…I… I had never wanted that path for her. I was going to send her away to the country after a few years. Maybe to the vineyards on the East Coast… Even to Canada! I'd have kept her away from the moonshine business, away from the weapon trade… If she wouldn't go, I'd have… I'd have her manage the ledgers. Do paperwork or something. Go to Harvard and become a lawyer… Become my secretary for anything legal. But… In the end… I was too late…" Aoshi looked up, his voice almost breaking. "When I called for her… She looked up and saw my face – saw that I was worried… Horrified…" his voice cracked again and he raised the bottle to his lips but there was nothing in it. "…Misao smiled… To reassure _me_ … …Misao… She said, 'It's okay Aoshi-sama'… She had protected _me_ …" he stood up to face Kenshin, his sharp, yet darkening icy eyes boring into the red-head. " _I had sworn to protect Misao_! _Do you understand_?! _I swore to her that I would_!" he roared.

"…Aoshi…" Kenshin said quietly.

The strength left Aoshi and he slowly sank down again. "But I failed. I failed long ago. I didn't send her away in time." He said, his voice hollow. "Why…? I wanted to be strong… The strongest…" he looked up at Kenshin. "…Like what I knew about you… I wanted to fight you and prove myself the best… But you disappeared… And I failed… I suppose we both failed in a way. We've found ways of living, yet it all keeps coming back to bite us on the ass."

"It's never too late to end something, indeed it is not." Said Kenshin softly.

"No." Aoshi's voice was strangely hard and his eyes were distant. "I have a job. This is what I know how to do – and do well. There are people depending on me. Even now… Despite my failure… She still believes in me… Misao… Still depends on me… Even though…"

"It's your choice." Kenshin said. "I cannot make it for you. And if she believes in you, don't you think her judgement is at least a little bit correct? She is very level-headed, indeed she is." Kenshin's voice was gentle. "And… I don't think you failed – indeed you did _not_. She has still been able to keep her smile because of you. Just as you want to protect her… Misao-dono wants to protect you. It's something we don't realize – but the people we want to protect have the same towards you – yet they may show it differently, indeed they do." He smiled slightly. "Speaking of which, she's about to open the door now."


	28. Chapter 28

**Misao**

Having finished dinner and chatted, Misao was going back to the cabin in relative high spirits. She had just touched the cool door handle, when she heard Aoshi's voice on the other side of it, a low snarl. " _What do you know about Misao._ " Misao gasped. _Aoshi-sama? What…?_ She heard Kenshin's sad voice and pressed her ear to the door and began to listen, tears prickling at her eyes, a hand pressing to her mouth. With every word they said, her fingers tightened around the handle – and her heart broke a little.

"Just as you want to protect her… Misao-dono wants to protect you. It's something we don't realize – but the people we want to protect have the same towards you – yet they may show it differently, indeed they do." She heard Kenshin say comfortingly. "Speaking of which, she's about to open the door now." _How did he-?_ Misao jerked back, wiped her eyes, then knocked, knowing it was her cue.

Kenshin opened the door. "Ah, hello there, Misao-dono!" he said pleasantly, but Misao could see that he looked very sad. "Aoshi and this one were just having a drink, indeed we were." He laughed a little, holding up the empty bottle and shaking it to show there was nothing inside. "I guess we got a bit carried away, no?"

Trying to smile back, Misao nodded. "Oh really? I hope you didn't get him _too_ drunk, Mr. Himura." She levelled a gaze at him. "Well, good night, I suppose."

"Good night to you too, Misao-dono."

Misao walked in and saw Aoshi sitting on her bed, his head against the windowsill of the slightly opened window – an unlit cigarette in his mouth. His usually icy clear eyes looked unfocussed. "Aoshi-sama?" she asked cautiously. "…Do… Do you want a light?" He didn't answer. Misao crossed her arms. "Aoshi-sama… You really shouldn't drink, you know… You told me _yourself_ that you have no tolerance for alcohol." She stepped closer.

It looked like focusing on her was difficult for him. "Sit next to me…" he said.

"O-okay." Misao sat down next to Aoshi. "You smell like alcohol, you know." She said, about to start another tirade.

"Save the lecture for when I have a hangover tomorrow morning. It'll be more effective" Aoshi muttered.

"Do you want me to turn on the light?"

"Just leave it." They sat in silence, Miso turning to him occasionally and opening her mouth – then turning away and closing it, only to cast a few concerned glances in Aoshi's direction. He simply stared forward, his eyes half-lidded. Suddenly, he twisted around to face her. "How much did you hear?" he asked.

"U-um…" the corner of Misao's mouth twitched in an awkward smile. "N-not much… Like…-" she cut herself off before saying any more. "Yeah… Not much."

He let out a breath in a strange way, Misao only later realizing it was kind of a dry laugh. "So you did hear."

"A-Aoshi-sama! Honestly, don't worry 'bout me, okay? I chose this! You've always protected me, but now that I'm not a little kid any more you don't have to feel all responsible for me and whatever! I'll always do my best, okay?"

"…Do you remember that day when I became the Okashira?"

Misao looked down. "Yeah." She nodded. "Yeah, I do."

 _In the large office, the entire household was gathered. Okina sat in his chair at the desk. For the first time, Misao saw it empty of papers, empty glasses and cigar butts. Its' smooth surface gleamed in the half-light. With a groan and crack of joints, Okina stood. "Today…" he said. "I have realized that I've gotten rather old." He half-smiled. "And no, this isn't because Misao beat me on the shooting range, or because Aoshi beat me at chess for the fifth time in a row. I have realized it is time for me to stand down. I am tired and there is someone who I trust with the position even more than I trust myself."_

 _With a grin of anticipation, Misao looked up at Aoshi, whose face was expressionless as he looked at the empty chair beside which Okina stood._

 _Okina nodded. "Aoshi. From today – you are the head of the family, the Okashira of the Oniwabanshu."_

 _Aoshi slowly bowed. "It is an honor." He said. With measured steps, he approached the front of the room, dragging his fingertips over the top of the desk and letting his other hand rest on the back of the leather chair. He looked at the lineup, Misao now standing at the front, Okina standing at the back. He nodded – then slowly sat down, straight-backed and sharp-eyed. The third Okashira._

 _With no experience – at sixteen years of age, Misao did what she had heard was correct. She stepped forward in her nicest dress, her favorite knife strapped to her thigh under the frills. She reached Aoshi's side and bowed. With a clear voice, she looked at him and grinned. "…I, Makimachi Misao, am pledgin' my fealty to the Oniwabanshu and to the new Okashira." She said formally, then bent to kiss his hand, her lips ghosting over his knuckles. When she looked up again, she met his eyes and he nodded at her gently. "Good luck, Aoshi-sama!" she whispered. Blushing bright red, she took her place behind his chair._

That was also the day she had first killed someone.

 _Misao was grinning like an idiot, twirling around the grounds of the mansion with an imaginary dance partner or to be more specific – an imaginary Aoshi. She hummed to herself as she pretended to be dipped on a dance floor of freshly mown grass. She lay down on her back, looking up at the bright, cloudless sky, wrapping her arms around herself and grinning a happy grin._

 _Then she sat up, looking at the mansion with rose bushes all around – and the pond, a few ducks swimming across its' surface._ Aoshi-sama's the Okashira now! He must be so happy right now, right? And in a few years, I'll be part of the family business too and work alongside Aoshi-sama! Maybe he'll even let me be his right-hand man… Uh, woman! ...In a few years… I'll be a complete adult! He might even marry me because I'll be so cool and good at everything…! _Her hormonal teenage brain devolved into various imaginary scenarios that involved being pinned to a desk by an amorous Aoshi._

 _As she delved into a particular imaginary scenario that involved Aoshi's tie around her wrists (still on the desk) – she sensed something off, and her eyes snapped open. She sprang into a crouch, on alert. Immediately, nothing seemed to be glaringly wrong. The pond was as still as ever, the sun just as bright and the trellis with roses under the office window… Oh shit._

 _Somebody was climbing up and he didn't look anything like anyone Misao knew, or should be climbing in that particular spot._

 _Instincts kicking in, Misao quickly got into the shadows and made her way across the yard to the wall which the strange man was climbing. She hid in the shadow between to large rosebushes, ignoring the sharp thorns that cut into her. Up close, he was very nondescript-looking but with a gun on his hip like a cowboy. That gun sealed his fate. Misao hiked her dress up so that it wouldn't obstruct the movement of her legs and drew the knife from its' sheath on her thigh._

 _As the man climbed, he was slow, and so Misao could still reach his leg. She judged the distance if she jumped, and figured she'd be able to bring him down. And so, jumping from the shadows, her knife between her teeth, she leapt and latched onto the man from behind, her knees crushing his ribs and her knife at his throat._

 _Unfortunately, she was not heavy enough to bring him down and he drew his gun, about to fire at her, twisting and pointing it at her._

I'll die.

Aoshi-sama'll d- _NO_!

 _The adrenalin kicked in._

 _The knife sunk deep into his throat and cut across as if by itself, meeting little resistance. She must've cut a major artery because of the spray of blood that dyed the red brick wall even redder._

 _The gun went off too loudly, the bullet lodging itself into the brick wall with a weird 'tthhkk' sound. She had no idea that in comparison to a bullet, brick walls were so soft…_

 _There was so much blood. She didn't know that there even_ was _so much blood in a person._

 _There was a crack and the trellis fell, Misao and the man fell with it._

 _The window flew open with a crash. Aoshi was looking at her with such eyes, his knuckles white around his gun._

 _The man was dead, he stopped moving. He was so heavy._

 _Misao could barely feel the ground as her back hit it, the man, the rosebush and the trellis all landing of top of her. The thorns cut her even more, but somehow, she didn't feel the pain. There was a roaring in her ears and everything was blurry._

 _She stood, shakily, disengaging herself from the thorns of the climbing rosebush and the still-warm body of the dead man. Things swam into such focus that it made her head hurt. She blankly gazed up at Aoshi who looked so worried, his knuckles white around the window frame and his gun in his other hand. It registered that she should reassure him. He looked rather worried, after all._

 _Her fingers were so tightly clenched around the knife that they were starting to cramp. The warm blood all down her dress, her hands and the dripping splatter on her cheek didn't matter. She didn't want Aoshi to worry. She had just saved everyone. She had just saved Aoshi._

 _So she smiled, tilting her head to the side. "It's… Okay… It's okay, Aoshi-sama." She said. It seemed as if she had not spoken for years, it was strangely difficult to form words, like speaking in a dream. "It's okay…" she repeated._

 _But he looked so terribly sad when she said it that she stopped smiling. She was about to ask what was wrong, when her legs would no longer hold her for some reason. Her last thought before everything went black was, '_ The trellis's gonna be a pain to fix later…'

"Yeah, I remember." Misao repeated. "What about it?"

"…Tell me the truth. Do you regret that day?" his eyes were sharp, his eyebrows drawing together.

"Hell no!" Misao said, blinking. "The only thing I regret is breaking the trellis and ruining my dress." She said firmly. "And I'm not even joking."

His eyes softened and saddened and he looked first down, then at her, then drew her into a gentle embrace, his hands tightening around her shoulders. "…What have I turned you into, Misao…?" he whispered into her hair and she could smell the alcohol even more strongly. "…What have I _really_ protected you from?"

Misao was not expecting him to hug her and her eyes widened, but she wrapped her arms around him too, sniffing, not wanting to see him so distressed. When someone was always so collected, so calm – seeing them emotional – especially if you cared about them more than anything… It made Misao cry. She was strong. -Ish. But she couldn't keep the tears in any longer. "Everything…!" she said through a choked sob. "I remember, even then, that day… I told you – 'it's okay, Aoshi-sama'!" she sniffed. "Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! I'm always fine! I just…" she sniffed. "I just wan'cha t' be happy, s'all!" she muttered into his shoulder. "So I'll try ta' protect your happiness too…"

His arms tightened around her. "…I apologize." He said softly. "I have no tolerance for alcohol and have drank more than half the bottle… My actions have been less than…" he searched for a word drunkenly. "Less than… Less than… Proper. But… Will you allow me to stay in this way for a little longer?"

Softly giggling, Misao's hands fisted in the fabric of Aoshi's shirt at his shoulders. "…Guess you didn't leave much booze for Himura…. Poor guy…!"

After a while, Misao felt him sag slightly in her arms and his breathing to seem slightly more even. _Is he asleep? Aoshi-sama is sleeping on me? What am I supposed to do? I guess I'll just…_ She slowly and gently lowered him onto the bed, her teeth clenching a little as she tried to do it at a controlled speed. _I swear to god. Aoshi-sama is twice my size… But why is he so_ heavy _?!_ Finally, she pulled a blanket over him and sat back on the edge of the bed.

"Really, Aoshi-sama…" she whispered, smiling. "Getting drunk, then falling asleep in my bed, always worrying so much about me…"

She got up and closed the window, drawing the curtains. In the dark, she sat at the foot of her bed where Aoshi's head was and brushed his hair away from his face with faint fingers. _He looks kinda younger when he's asleep. Not as serious and frowny, maybe?_ She smiled a little. _I wonder, does he dream? What does he dream about?_

 _I dream about_ you, _Aoshi-sama_.


	29. Chapter 29

**Soujiro**

Soujiro sat back in his seat after dinner and felt satisfied. Kamatari poked him in the side. "So what now?" he asked. "Heishin's dead – we don't have to deal with that. But it's going to be rather hard to find our buddy Yukishiro without him."

Smiling absentmindedly, Soujiro stared up at the swinging chandelier. "I wonder… Did Shinomori plan this?"

Kamatari arched a perfectly-shaped eyebrow and shook his head with a laugh. "Why? What benefit would setting loose a fucking crazy-" he cut himself off with a prim smile and continued in an undertone. "What would Shinomori get out of causing havoc on this train? Does he intend to attack Shishio-sama? Shinomori has the whole of Chicago to himself!"

"That's what I'm wondering about too." Soujiro said. "What benefit _would_ it bring. Unless… Maybe he wants to work _with_ Shishio-san. By eliminating both Heishin and Yukishiro – he would be effectively placing Shishio-san in his debt. From what I've heard – Shinomori Aoshi is a very honorable guy. Ruthless, yes, but honorable. And he's the only one in the game right now that _didn't_ set Shishio-san on fire ten years ago." He said.

"But the Oniwabanshu were definitely involved in that incident!" exclaimed Kamatari. Even though he had never met Shishio before the 'incident' – Kamatari was very sensitive about it and did not refer to it as casually, opting to call it the 'incident' rather than describing the events.

"That was the previous leader, Okina. A lot has changed in the way the Oniwabanshu is run since his time. Shinomori Aoshi-san's such an innovator – yet so hopelessly traditional. Very interesting, he is."

"Do you really think Shinomori would be that naïve though? Everyone and their mother knows that Shishio-sama doesn't bother with useless things like honor – when it doesn't suit him, that is."

"He's an enigma isn't he…" Soujiro smiled. "You can never tell what he's thinking with that grumpy poker-face of his. You say 'oh, hello there, Shinomori-san' and he'd just nod at you. Although it might be that he just doesn't like me… Anyway, he's anything _but_ naïve, though – I can tell _that_ much."

Smiling back, Kamatari adjusted Soujiro's crooked tie. "Then he's rather like you, isn't he? Instead of having a grumpy poker-face, you have a very happy one."

"Oh, Kamatari-chan that's a little-"

"Yo!" Chou said, interrupting them. "I'm ordering another two helpings of this here, anyone got a problem?"

Anji fixed him with a heavy look. "…Even if we did, you'd still order it – why are you asking?"

Soujiro laughed, Kamatari giggled and Chou shrugged defensively, cracking a grin behind his glass of milk. Fleetingly, Soujiro thought, _This fun moment is going to be the only one in a long time. But I'm going to keep laughing anyway._

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

"We should tell the guy to come out so we can talk to him. 'S what we always do. Call 'im out – then shoot 'im the fuck up." Chou said, fishing another piece of bread (that he had taken from the restaurant) from his coat pocket.

"We cannot communicate with him." Anji said. "Otherwise, yes, we could do that."

Kamatari crossed his stockinged legs and lit a cigarette, leaning back tiredly. "Look, I don't get what's so hard. Just do this – bang down everyone's door and when we find him, we shoot him and his buddies. Simple as that!"

Wagging a finger, Soujiro shook his head. "No, no and _no_. We were told not to draw attention to ourselves as far as we could. And if we went with your suggestion – we would alert them to our presence very, very early." Soujiro smiled. "Honestly, you're underestimating them. Do you even know why our paranoid friend Heishin thought of them so highly?"

Chou snorted. "Sure, they might be good." He jabbed a thumb at his chest. "But we're hella better. I mean, look at me, yo." He grinned. "Ain't _nobody_ in this country has anywhere _near_ as many guns as me – and knows how to use 'em all real good – like me." He gestured at Kamatari. "This guy's a machine gun nut…" nodded at Anji. "He can use a gun but his fists can like, rip through sheet metal and break rocks." He looked at Soujiro. "And you're _fast_ , yo. You got knife skills, gun skills – hell, I'd say you got fighting skills but you're skinny as hell. But hey, what do I know."

Soujiro nodded. "…And yet – they're still really good. If we could take them by surprise, it'd be much easier to dispose of them. But now that our link to them – Heishin – is gone, we don't even know where they are." He sighed, still smiling. "And Yukishiro-san has plans of his own."

"What plans?" Anji asked, opening his eyes and looking up.

"Interesting plans." Soujiro said. "Do you guys know about the Battousai? He was an old colleague of Shishio-san, back when he was just starting out – not having made his way to the top yet. He was a hitman – the best hitman. But he disappeared after the gang war – presumed dead. A few years back, Udou Jinei died – you all know about that. Apparently, he was defeated by the Battousai – but here's the thing. Battousai-san didn't kill him."

"Huh?" Chou laughed. "Battousai's a dead guy, ain't he? No wonder he didn't kill Udou – how could he have if he was six feet under?"

Kamatari rolled his eyes and blew out a string of smoke from between his red-painted lips. "How about you _listen,_ yes, Chou-kun?" he turned to Soujiro. "So? What about him, Soujiro-kun?"

"Jinei killed himself after being defeated. Defeated with rubber bullets, no less. Maybe it was out of embarrassment." Soujiro laughed slightly.

Snorting again, Chou fell back onto the seat in a slouch. "Aw, come _on_ , man. Udou was _good_. Rubber bullets?" he laughed again, shaking his head. "You bullshitting?"

Soujiro's smile widened. "You'd think that, wouldn't you. But no. It was Battousai. Only Battousai-san could've done something like that. He's been underground, hiding his scar and refusing to kill. He got married to a journalist, had one kid, adopted another – maybe not in that order. He's managed to stay hidden, living a normal life." Soujiro nodded. "Until now, because he's on this train, and he's been noticed by a number of people. That grumpy ex-Shinsengumi cop, Saitou-san, Oniwabanshu Okashira, Shinomori-san and I."

Chou shot up into a sitting position. "You're shitting me!"

Kamatari's head snapped towards Soujiro. "You aren't taking us for a ride, are you, Soujiro-kun? Pulling our legs and all that? Because no offence, darling, it sounds like a glamorous load of crap."

Anji simply bestowed Soujiro with a heavy look.

Nodding, Soujiro smiled. "Nope! I'm telling the truth. But that's not it. The thing is, Yukishiro-san has a grudge against Battousai-san. Even Shishio-san's hazy on the details, but rumors say that Battousai killed someone he wasn't supposed to, ten years ago."

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up." Chou held up a hand and began to count on his fingers. "Isn't Yukishiro like, young, though? If what's-his-face did the thing ten years ago, he'd've been a kid, like fourteen or some shit – and if he did it before that, hed've been an even younger kid."

"Yes. I tend to think that it was someone close to Yukishiro-san – his parents perhaps, or something like that. Someone whose passing Yukishiro-san would be deeply affected by, as a child." Soujiro waved his hand. "That isn't the point, though. Yukishiro-san's unhinged. Crazy – some call him. His revenge's driven him mad for years and if he finds out that his old enemy is on this train, he will go to any lengths to ensure he dies – and those closest to him."

"Shit." Said Chou. "That's intense."

"So what does this have to do with us?" wondered Kamatari aloud. "It's interesting knowing that Battousai's alive – a good piece of information, that – but what are we supposed to do? Stake out every car in hopes that Yukishiro Enishi and his buddies are going to be in one of them?"

"Battousai-san may know." Soujiro said. "And so may Saitou-san, now that I've tipped him off." He sighed, continuing more quietly, as if to himself. "The only one who's a mystery here's Shinomori Aoshi-san. He has must be gaining something out of all this. I just don't see what it is, right now."

Chou leapt up, throwing his long coat off to expose the various guns strapped to his body. "So let's stake this motherfucker out, then shoot him up!" he yelled, then sighed. "…I want some steak, yo."

It was Anji's turn to roll his eyes

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Soujiro walked slowly up the swaying corridor of the train car, heading towards the front, where the driver would be. He lit a cigarette and began to contemplate a plan of action, twirling his glinting switchblade between his fingers – the action helping him think more quickly.

He heard a door opening far down and looked back over his shoulder, stepping back into someone else's shadowy doorway to see who it was. _Oh, that's Battousai-san with an empty bottle… And that's Misao-chan._ He mentally took a photo of that moment so he could ruminate on it later. He could not hear what they were saying and that annoyed him, yet he felt that it wouldn't matter much. Still, he _was_ curious. _I wonder what that was all about, hm? Is Battousai-san getting back into the game now, making deals with the Oniwabanshu? Or was it simply a drink between old friends._

Shrugging, he continued on. The next carriage was dark, and Soujiro's guard was up, as he saw that the light nearest to him was smashed, glittering shards of glass, stained with something dark and viscous littering the floor. As his eyes grew more accustomed to the dark the hallway came into sharper focus. The red fuzzy carpet was matted in some places and there was a wide, deep track, as if something wet, that was now drying had been dragged down it. His figurative hackles stood up.

 _I smell blood_. Soujiro's eyes narrowed and he slowly put his knife back in his pocket, taking out his revolver and holding it at the ready. He began to advance slowly down the hallway, looking warily about himself, senses on major alert, ears attuned to the tiniest sounds, eyes scanning his surroundings. Yet he heard nothing but the sound of his own footsteps muffled by the carpet and saw very little, as even he could not see well in pitch darkness.

He was reaching the end of the hallway and he noticed something dark in the corner, next to the door leading onto the engine room. Some hunched, dark mass.

He pulled back the safety on his gun with a click and advanced more quickly, trying to discern what on earth it could be through the darkness. Was that a movement, or was he just imagining things? His finger rested comfortably on the trigger. He wasn't scared. Oh no. He was _excited_. Who knew what kind of fun he could have?

Then the moon came out from behind the clouds and Soujiro began to laugh at what he saw, shaking his head. "Oh, honestly…!"

The hallway was painted with blood and the dark mass in the corner was a body of a man. He had been ripped to shreds in the front, his shirt hanging off him by threads, as was his skin. He was only recently dead, as the blood was still fresh, metallic-smelling and not yet rotten - dripping. His unseeing eyes gaped wide in horror and a steady dribbling of blood from his mouth made inaudible sounds as the droplets soaked into his pants.

By what was left of his clothes, Soujiro judged that he was not a passenger – instead a waiter – or something like that. His neck lolled at an unnatural angle and one of his arms looked to be on the wrong way, both his legs seeming to have extra joints. _Somebody had been enjoying themselves_ , Soujiro thought wryly, mildly disgusted.

He poked at him with the toe of his shoe and the man fell to the side with a wet thump. Face down, with his back up, Soujiro's eyes widened as he saw that words were etched into his back. ' _A warning before true judgement._ ' He said. ' _Don't run, Battousai._ ' He was not surprised to see the name, ' _Yukishiro_ ' cut into the man's lower back, still oozing fresh blood – a gruesome signature.

"He's begun to move already." Muttered Soujiro with a sigh, turning and beginning to walk away, more purpose in his step and his gun loosely by his side. "How rather inconsiderate of him. He won't stay in one place and graciously let us kill him – I should've known." Soujiro smiled a chilling smile, his eyes more cold and empty than before, reflecting the bloodied hallway. "This is really going to be loads more fun than I thought."


	30. Chapter 30

**Sanosuke**

Sanosuke was used to waking up in many different ways. Alone in his room. Freezing his ass off in the winter. Used to his arm falling asleep as a girl (whose name he would hear only when she woke up) shifted. To the traffic below. To loud knocking on his door from various people who wanted various things (money, for instance). To banging and clattering that Yahiko had caused every morning when he had stayed at Sanosuke's place – trying to be responsible and helpful and cook breakfast, yet not tall enough to reach the frying pan. He was used to waking up to silence as snow fell and to loud yelling as arguments and fights went on around him.

But he was not used to waking up on a moving train to a woman's long, piercing, breathless scream of pure, abject terror.

 _Megumi._ He shot up, halfway to the door that joined his and Megumi's compartment. Only for a moment did he hesitate – then opened the door, in a fighting stance.

In the fold-out seat-bed, Megumi sat up, her nightgown clinging to her with sweat, her hands over her chest. Her eyes were wide and she breathed raggedly, looking down at nothing. Sanosuke cautiously stepped forward. She looked up at him, her hair swinging, the moonlight from the open window giving her skin an unearthly pallor. "… _I killed them_." She whispered. " _All of them_."

"H-hey, Fox-lady?" his voice shook and he took a few unsure steps forward.

It seemed as if the shivering spell had been broken and the intensity of the moonlight dimmed also. At the sound of his voice, Megumi looked up, her eyes losing their intensity, her shaking hands hiding under the covers and pulling her blankets closer around herself. "Rooster-head?" she asked, her voice bearing only a slight trace of fear, tinged with relief.

Suddenly, he became too aware of his actions – rushing into a woman's room just like that. "I, uh…" he trailed off. "I heard you scream – it woke me up. I thought there was a, uh, attack or something." He looked at her with slight concern. "You… You alright, Fox-lady?"

A slim-fingered white hand attached to a smooth white arm brushed black strands off her face, red lips curving in a derisive smirk. "Oh, I'm fine. It was just a dream."

The smirk was fake, he was sure of it. Sanosuke's eyes narrowed. "Hey."

His voice was slightly too loud and she looked up at him, arching an eyebrow, her hands still shaking, gripping the bedsheets, even as her spine relaxed against her pillows. "Yes?"

He stepped forward. "Something's got you real spooked, Fox-lady."

"A dream." She said, her jaw tightening stubbornly. Her hands did not cease to shake even as she tried to hide it. "Go back to sleep, Rooster-head."

"I might be a nobody – but damn me – I can see you're tryin' to be strong, lady." He shook his head. "We've only known each other for a few days, you're a rich, fancy lady-doctor and I'm some lame Chicago street-fighter. We probably ain't gonna see each other again. But shit, I don't know what's up with me…" he took a breath. "I just… Wanna let you know that you don't gotta be strong around me. If something's got you spooked – tell me. I'll fight whatever the hell it is for you." He bit back any more words as he noticed the look on her face.

Megumi looked at him for a long time, then smoothly moved her legs out of bed, pushing back the covers and walked bare-footed across the carpet to stand facing him. Her nightgown reached mid-calf, falling sheer, clinging to her body with the terrified sweat of her nightmare. Her eyes were calm and Sanosuke met them with a silent plea. Her lips curved upward, and it was a genuine smile, not a smirk of amusement or derision. "You're sweet." She said.

"Oi." He muttered. "That's all you got to say?"

She laughed quietly, then grew serious. "I hired you…" she took a breath. "I hired you to protect me. When we reach New York City – there are a few people I want to officially cut ties with. Until then, those people might come after me and I want you to protect me from them."

Sanosuke nodded. "The mob?"

"Sort of like that kind of a thing." Megumi looked down and away, when she spoke again, her voice was filled with more emotion. "…I wasn't sure what I was doing, coming back to New York." She said, quietly. "Even when I hired you, I wasn't sure if I was coming back to settle things, or let things go back to the way they were before. I… Ran away from it. I didn't want to-" she broke off. "I didn't want to do what they told me anymore." She looked up at him with piercing eyes. "I'm hiring you to protect me until I finish what I need to do."

He nodded again, more slowly and he looked carefully at her. "Anything you want, Fox-lady." He said, grinning crookedly. "I'm your man."

"You really are sweet." She said. "Maybe I'll employ you again some time." Her voice sounded far-away, and Sanosuke realized that she never intended to see him again. She had decided to do something in New York – and it gave him a bad gut feeling.

He reached for her hand as she turned away from him and gently whirled her around to face him, bringing her slightly closer than he intended. "You…" he managed. "I've seen that look before." He growled. "You have the face of a person who's resolved never to see the light of day again – after you ' _break your ties_ '."

She looked up at him, her eyes widening at first, then smug the next. Unabashedly, she moved closer. "Oh? And what gives you that idea?" she tired to pull away, but his arm was around her waist.

"Don't gimme that." He snarled. "If you want me to protect you, I'm gonna do it all the way – not some half-assed attempt. You hired me!" his voice rose, then lowered again as he made no move to release her. "I've seen men who were gonna die, Vixen. They knew it, and they were smiling. You have that face on you. You're never planning to leave New York, lady."

Her hand slid up his arm, resting on the side of his neck. Her fingers were cold and so were her eyes when she looked at him. "Stop caring so much." Her voice was quiet, but firm. "You'll get hurt."

Sanosuke laughed quietly, not backing down. "People've always said that to me. But somehow, like the dumbass I am – I never took their advice. Dunno why – it's just the way I am, I guess." He looked at her, his arm tightening around her waist. "Don't do it Fox-lady. Break your ties, but walk out of there with your head held high, and me at your back. What the hell'd you hire me for, huh?!"

Megumi looked away and her red smile trembled. "…You're making it hard, Rooster-head…" About to release her and step back, he was shocked when she leaned against him, her arm going around him. "You're warm…" she said.

"Uh, yeah. It's my specialty." He said. "Sagara Sanosuke, heat source and body pillow at your service." Hesitantly, he reached up to stroke her hair. It was softer than it even looked.

"That was such a lame joke…" muttered Megumi into his chest.

They stood there for a while, time seeming not to matter. She was thinner than she looked, Sanosuke noticed – and her hair had a slight wave to it, giving it more volume than it would if it was straight. But Megumi let go, Sanosuke released her – and they looked at each other. Her eyes were sadly smiling at her and his jaw tightened. The atmosphere was charged with something, something both of them needed, yet were wary of starting.

Sanosuke scratched the back of his neck, avoiding her eyes. "I'll… Be goin' now." He muttered. "G'night."

"…You're going?" she looked at him, arching an eyebrow, her red-painted smirk on her face again. "You won't… Stay behind?"

He looked up and away, letting out an unconvincing snot that turned into a _look_ in her direction. "Are you trying to seduce me?" he laughed.

"Maybe I am."

He rolled his eyes. "Ah, seriously, this lady." He looked at her again a wry set to his mouth. "Hey, look, you-" she kissed him hard, her hand clutching at the back of his head, not letting him finish whatever he was going to say. She pressed herself against him and did not let go until they both could not breathe. He leaned against the wall for support and she blocked his exit, wrapping her arms around him tightly, fingers digging into his shoulders and not letting go.

He did not get to say anything until she kissed him for a third time, parting for air. "Are you insane?" he asked breathlessly.

"We're both crazy – Rooster-head. If we weren't, we'd've never met." She whispered, beginning to unbutton his shirt, before kissing him again. He nodded, his crooked grin slipping, and began to kiss her back.

"…You're right." Nothing more articulate was said.

On that moonlit night, on a train from Chicago to New York, Sagara Sanosuke let himself be seduced.


End file.
